Dyslipidemia is one of the most important risk factors for atherosclerosis.From the 1960s, a large number of cholesterol-lowering clinical trials had laid a solid cornerstone of evidence-based medicine for the concept “the lower the better”.Statins can significantly reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular events by lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC).However, there is still high residual cardiovascular risk in some patients who have achieved lower levels of LDLC, even when LDLC <70 mg/dL.High doses of intensive statin therapy can not completely solve the remnants of the residual risk.It is of great importance to solve the residual risk so as to further reduce the rates of cardiovascular events.This article aims to review the latest advances to clarify the relationship between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) and residual cardiovascular risk.