〔Abstract〕 Objective To investigate the expression of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine-like1(SPARCL1) in atherosclerosis(AS) and the association between SPARCL1 gene rs7695558 and rs1049539 polymorphism with the susceptibility to AS. Methods In this case-control study, 209 AS patients were selected as the case group, and 208 healthy matched in age and sex were selected as the control group.The expression level of serum SPARCL1 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Linear and Logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the correlation between SPARCL1 level and vascular risk factors, lifestyle and demographic variables.Expression of SPARCL1 in tissue specimens was assessed by immunohistochemistry.Single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) were genotyped by high resolution melting method.Chi-square test was used to analyze the relationship between rs7695558 and rs1049539 polymorphism and susceptibility to AS. Results The serum expression level of SPARCL1 in AS patients was lower than that in healthy controls(Z=-2.916,P=0.004).The level of SPARCL1 was related to age(P=0.027) and diastolic blood pressure(P=0.008),but not to sex and other cardiovascular risk factors(P>0.05).The expression level of SPARCL1 in atherosclerotic lesions of coronary artery tissue increased.There was no significant difference in gene distribution of rs7695558 and rs1049539 between the case group and the control group by chi-square test(P>0.05).In the recessive genetic model of rs7695558,there was a difference in the distribution of genes with and without A.Patients without A allele(GG) had a lower risk of AS than patients with A allele(AA+AG).TheORvalue was 0.417,95%CI:0.184～0.945,which was significant at 10% confidence level(P=0.034). Conclusion Rs7695558,a new susceptible site related to AS risk, located in the intron of human SPARCL1 gene is identified for the first time in Anhui population of China, suggesting that SPARCL1 may play an anti-AS role as a vascular protective factor.