Aim To explore the feasibility of atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) in predicting coronary heart disease (CHD) by comparing the predictive value of AIP and pulse wave velocity (PWV) on coronary heart disease. Methods A total of 316 patients (196 males and 120 females) with chest pain suspected coronary heart disease were taken the coronary angiography (CAG) in our hospital. Study subjects were divided into coronary heart disease group and non-coronary heart disease group according to the results of CAG. The independent risk factors of coronary heart disease were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression analysis and predictive value on coronary heart disease were compared between the two groups. Results The levels of AIP and PWV were significantly higher in coronary heart disease group than those in non-coronary heart disease group (P＜0.01). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that high AIP and PWV were independent risk factors of coronary heart disease (P＜0.01). AIP was positively correlated with PWV in coronary heart disease patients (r=0.830, P＜0.01). Area under the curve for AIP and PWV in evaluating prognosis of coronary heart disease were 0.764 (95%CI was 0.683～0.802, P＜0.01) and 0.721 (95%CI was 0.642～0.784, P＜0.01).At the optimal point, there was no significant difference between the two groups in sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for coronary heart disease in statistics (P＞0.05). Conclusion There are certain predictive value of AIP level for coronary heart disease. When the level of AIP is higher than 0.161, the risk of coronary heart disease is greater.