Abstract：Carotid atherosclerosis(CAS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of arterial wall and is the main pathological basis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. By reviewing the relevant literatures on the treatment of CAS by Chinese and western medicine in the past 10 years，the authors systematically sorted out and analyzed the pathogenesis and treatment of CAS by Chinese and western medicine. Modern medicine believes that its pathological mechanism mainly includes inflammatory reaction， vascular endothelial injury， lipid infiltration， oxidative stress， etc.， and the treatment mainly uses lipid- lowering and plaque stabilization， antiplatelet aggregation， antioxidant drug therapy or interventional and surgical treatment. Chinese medicine believes that its pathogenesis is mainly phlegm，stasis and dampness caused by disharmony of zang- fu organs and disorder of qi， blood and body fluid， which is closely related to the liver， spleen and kidney； the therapeutic is mainly to eliminate phlegm，remove dampness and resolve stasis as well as regulate yin and yang of zang-fu organs. The treatment includes single Chinese herb， Chinese patent medicine， compound preparation， acupuncture and moxibustion as well as other methods.