Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with high overall and cardiovascular mortality. Numerous studies have reported that increased heart rate is a risk factor for all-cause mortality. We investigated the link between sleep heart rate and artery stiffness in CKD patients. In a cross-sectional study, we enrolled 100 prevalent Chinese CKD patients (55 males, aged 52.5 +/- A 16.40 years). Heart rate was measured with an automatic system. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by using a calibrated tonometer. Large artery elasticity index (LAEI) was positively correlated with body mass index and hemoglobin but negatively associated with age and systolic blood pressure. Furthermore, LAEI was negatively associated with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and sleep heart rate. In multivariate regression, LAEI was independently predicted by SBP, BMI, age, sleep heart rate, and gender. Adjusted R (2) of the model was 0.486. Elevated sleep heart rate is significantly associated with increased arterial stiffness in CKD patients. Further investigation is needed to explore the potential benefits of sleep heart rate lowering therapy in this patient group.