Abstract： Objective To observe the effects of atorvastatin on nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) and group Ⅱ a secretory phospholipaseA2 (sPLA2 Ⅱ a) expression in aorta of atherosclerosis(AS) rat. Methods Healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups(10 rats in each group) :control group, model group(40 mg/(kg·d) per gavage). The rats in model group and atorvastatin group were fed with high cholesterol group and atorvastatin diet. At the end of 8 weeks, the expression of sPLA2 Ⅱ a and NF-κB were observed by immunocytochemistry and re-verse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results The expression of NF-κB and the gene expres-sion of sPLA2 Ⅱ a and mRNA levels of the model group significantly increased compared with those in the control group(all P <0.01) and could be significantly attenuated by atorvastatin. The expression of sPLA2-Ⅱ a mRNA was correlated with NF-κB in all groups. Conclusions sPLA2-Ⅱ a may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of AS. Atorvastatin can relieve the process of AS by decreasing the expression level of sPLA2-Ⅱa. NF-κB may stimu-late the gene transcription of sPLA2-Ⅱa.