Objective To discuss the relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and the ischemic cerebrovascular disease(ICVD).Methods 1583 subjects with acute ICVD enrolled from June 2001 to December 2004 underwent carotid artery duplex ultrasonography.Logistic regression was performed to analyze the relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and ICVD.Results 86.5%(1369/1583)of all the patients had a varying degree of carotid atherosclerosis,in which the occurrence of the atherosclerotic plaques(1286/1583,81.2%)higher than that of stenosis of the extracranial carotid(214/1583,13.5%).There was a significant difference in the incidence of carotid atherosclerosis between patients from the TIA group(198/317,62.5%)and from the cerebral infarction group(1087/1266,85.9%).Carotid atherosclerotic plaques were most commonly seen in the bifurcations of the common carotid artery(665/1286,51.7%).The severity of stenosis of the extracranial carotid and the formation of the atherosclerotic plaques were significantly correlated to the risk factors of cerebrovascular disease.Conclusions Atherosclerotic plaques are dominant characteristics of carotid atherosclerosis in the patients with ICVD in Foshan.There is a positive correlation between carotid atherosclerosis and ICVD.