Aim To explore the impact of the different baseline level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein （hs-CRP） on the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity （baPWV）. Methods Prospective cohort study method was used in our study. 101 510 workers who had participated in the 2006-2007 Kailuan health examination were stratified randomly, and 5 440 participants with sufficient information for questionnaires and blood biochemical tests were recruited. In the 2010-2011 Kailuan health examination the baPWV was tested, and 4 651 were included for the final analysis. According to the concentration of hs-CRP in 2006-2007 Kailuan health examination, the participants were divided into three groups, and multivariate linear regression analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to calculate the rate ratios for baPWV. Results （1）The average baPWV in hs-CRP<1 mg/L group （n＝2 682）, 1 mg/L≤hs-CRP≤3 mg/L group （n＝1 307） and hs-CRP>3 mg/L group （n＝662） were respectively 1 505.82 cm/s, 1 612.48 cm/s, 1671.04cm/s （P<0.001） （2）After adjustment for other risk factors, with the every one unit increasing of baseline lg_hs-CRP, baPWV increased 6.448 cm/s in the multiple linear regression analysis （P＝0.034） （3）Compared with participants whose hs-CRP<1 mg/L, the RR for those with hs-CRP>3 mg/L was 1.34 （95%CI 1.04-1.72） in multivariate Logistic regression analysis. Conclusions The baPWV gradually increased with the increasing of baseline hs-CRP concentration. Serum hs-CRP>3 mg/L was an independent risk factor for increased baPWV in the general population, especially in men.