Based on the theories of traditional Chinese medicine and clinical practice, the authors put forward the view that of the liver and kidney and obstruction of the channels by is the basic pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The disease occurs in the blood vessel but is rooted in the zang-fu organs, i.e. deficiency of the liver and kidney and deficiency of yin. The manifestation of the disease is mainly seen in the heart and spleen, which is due to obstruction of the channels by turbid phlegm. Phlegm is often mixed with wind, fire and dampness and blood stasis is often mixed with qi, heat and cold. At the onset of the disease, deficiency of kidney yin occurs, and the body fluid accumulates into phlegm, leading further to blood stasis. The basic cause and the manifestations of the disease have the causal relationship that may affect each other. In treatment, it is advisable to nourish the liver and kidney, resolve phlegm and remove blood stasis.