Abstract: Objective To investigate the relationship between hypertension and peripheral artery disease（PAD） in the population aged over 35 years in Beijing. Methods A multistage stratified random sampling technique was used to select the adult residents aged over 35 years in four districts and counties of Beijing area between July 2013 and December 2014. A total of 5 126 residents were randomly sampled and their upper arm blood pressure and ankle brachial blood pressure were measured. Results The prevalence of PAD was significantly higher in hypertensive individuals compared with normotensive individuals（6.5% vs 3.1%, P＜0.05）. After controlling for age, gender, body mass index（BMI）, smoke, diabetes, dyslipidemia and the use of antihypertensive drugs, the OR（95% CI） of PAD were 1.38（0.87-2.19） in high-normal, 1.68（1.04-2.73） in grade 1 hypertension, 2.10（1.18-3.73） in grade 2 hypertension and 5.08（2.57-10.08） in grade 3 hypertension, respectively, compared with the optimal blood pressure. The risk of PAD increased by 19% with per 10 mm Hg increment of systolic blood presure（SBP）. Compared with the individuals of SBP less than 120 mm Hg, the risk of PAD increased by 61%（OR: 1.61, 95% CI 1.01-2.60） and 175%（OR: 2.75, 95% CI 1.65-4.60） in those with SBP 140-159 and ≥160 mm Hg, respectively. In comparison with non-hypertension group, the OR（95% CI） of PAD were 1.45（0.98-2.14） for untreated hypertension, 1.93（1.34-2.78） for treated but uncontrolled hypertension, and 1.23（0.83-1.82） for treated and controlled hypertension,respectively. Conclusion Hypertension is associated with increment risk of PAD. Elevated SBP is the independent risk factor of PAD. Controlling elevated blood pressure in patients with hypertension may reduce the risk for PAD.