Atherosclerosis (As) is the most common lesion of cardio-cerebrovascular disease endangering human health in the modern society. Finding the potential biomarkers during the progress of As is significant for the prevention and treatment of As-related diseases. Studies have shown that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) can be widely involved in many cell activity regulation processes, and play a role in different stages of As development. LncRNA can be secreted into the circulatory system by exosome, micro-vesicle and apoptotic bodies. In the recent years, investigations on the circulating lncRNA in As have been reported more and more. The circulating lncRNA is expected to become the novel non-invasive biomarker to monitor the progress of As.