Objective To observe the serum levels of inflammatory factors and sex hormones in male obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients with hypertension(OSAS-H), in order to investigate the correlation between inflammation severity and sex hormone levels in the patients. Methods A total of 70 patients with polysomnography-diagnosed severe OSAS admitted in our department from January 2010 to December 2012 were recruited in this study. They were divided to 2 groups, OSAS-H group (40 cases) and OSAS group (30 cases). Another 30 age-matched health males without OSAS or hypertension served as controls. Serum contents of estradiol (E2), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), progesterone (PROG), testosterone (TEST), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were measured. Results The serum levels of CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly higher in OSAS-H group than that in OSAS and control groups (P＜0.05), and that of CRP was obviously higher in OSAS group than in control group (P＜0.05). Levels of E2 and PROG were also significantly higher in OSAS-H group than in the other 2 groups (P＜0.05), but no difference was found in these levels between OSAS group and the controls (P＞0.05). Conclusion For these OSAS patients, intermittent hypoxia during sleep may induce not only inflammatory factors, but also abnormal estrogen secretion, and thus exacerbate the chronic inflammation. It may play an important role in the development of hypertension in OSAS patients.