Background: Arterial stiffness as determined by aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) has been shown to predict cardiovascular events in high-risk subjects such as those with hypertension or end-stage renal disease. Although it is suspected that low-grade inflammation as represented by increased high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) plays an important role in the progression of atherosclerosis, it is not yet known whether serum hsCRP levels are associated with PWV. Methods: To examine the relationship between brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) and serum hsCRP levels, several cardiovascular risk factors including these two markers (baPWV and CRP) were measured in 524 participants (mean age 59 years) randomly selected from a general population. Results: Age, male gender, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, diabetes, and serum hsCRP levels increased with the increasing quartiles of the baPWV (all, p < 0.01, r=0.239). By multiple regression analysis, age (p < 0.001), systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001), heart rate (p < 0.001), body mass index (p < 0.001), and hsCRP (p < 0.01) were significant and independent predictors for baPWV. Conclusion: This cross sectional study has demonstrated in non-diabetic hypertensives that the arterial stiffness marker baPWV was independently correlated with serum hsCRP levels after adjustment for other established cardiovascular risks factors. This result suggests that vascular inflammation is an important contributing factor in the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis. This work was supported by a grant of Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (00-PJ6-PG5-23-0001)