Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolisml process of self-degradation responsible for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Vascular calcification is common in many diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and end-stage renal disease,which is a major risk factor of cardiovascular mortality. Today the effective therapy for vascular calcification is still unavailable. Recent studies indicate that vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) autophagy may play an important role in vascular calcification by regulating the activity of self-degradation and the transdifferentiation process of VSMCs to osteogenic phenotype. This article briefly reviews the recent advances between VSMCs autophagy and vascular calcification.