Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice. It leads to not only heart insufficiency, but also thromboembolic complications, and thus increases the risk of morbidity and mortality. Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of coronary heart diseases and ischemic stroke. In recent years, some evidence has shown that atherosclerosis may predict the incidence, progression and recurrence of atrial fibrillation. In addition, atrial fibrillation also promotes the progression of atherosclerosis, and increases the risk of thromboembolism and atherothrombosis. However, the underlying mechanism between them remains unclear. By using medical imaging, electrophysiological, histopathological and immunological assays, recent studies have found that atherosclerosis and atrial fibrillation may both be related to inflammation, arterial endothelial injury and dysfunction, and have mutual interaction.