Aim To investigate the distribution characteristics of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity （BaPWV） and its correlation with the clinical indicators in crowd undergoing physical examination. Methods The subjects from the Health Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from May 2009 to February 2012 were enrolled as the object of study. The gender, age, hypertension history, smoking and alcohol status were recorded. The blood pressure was measured and the pulse pressure （PP） was calculated The weight and height were measured on a human body composition analyzer and the body mass index （BMI） was obtained The fasting blood glucose （FBG）, triglyceride （TG）, total cholesterol （TC）, high density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDLC）, low density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDLC）, blood uric acid （BUA）, high sensitivity C-reactive protein （hs-CRP）, homocysteine （Hcy）, serum creatinine （SCr）, hemoglobin （Hb） concentration were tested by drawing blood The BaPWV was measured on an arteriosclerosis detector. The total 20748 subjects undergoing all the inspection items related to this investigation were the object of study. The distribution characteristics of BaPWV of the subjects and its relationship with the above indices were analyzed. Results （1）The value of BaPWV≥1400 cm/s is taken as the critical point of arteriosclerosis. It was found that abnormal BaPWV data were observed for varying age groups with both the average BaPWV and abnormal detection rate rising with age. （2）The values of BaPWV of the male are slightly higher than those of the female The average value of BaPWV for smokers is higher than that of non-smokers The average value of BaPWV for subjects with hypertension history is markedly higher than that of subjects with normal blood pressure For subjects with varying alcohol drinking habits there exists significant differences in BaPWV and occasional alcohol drinkers showed, however, relatively low BaPWV. （3） Logistic regression analysis indicates that the age, hypertension history, smoking status, BMI, PP, FBG, TG, TC, LDLC, hs-CRP, Hcy, SCr, BUA, Hb and alcohol drinking etc.are all significant factors related to abnormal BaPWV. Conclusions The distribution characteristics of BaPWV is coincident with that of arteriosclerosis in adult population and its influencing factors is basically in accord with traditional factors related to arteriosclerosis. As one of non-invasive physical examination indicators, BaPWV can objectively reflect the degree of arteriosclerosis, thus providing the dependence for health intervention.