Background Adhesion molecules play an important role in the development and progression of coronary atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to compare concentrations of soluble forms of adhesion molecules in patients with different clinical presentations of coronary artery disease (CAD).Methods One hundred and twenty-eight patients with CAD were divided into three groups; the first group was acute myocardial infarction group (AMI group, n=45), the second group was unstable angina pectoris group (UAP group, n=48),the third group was stable angina pectoris group (SAP group, n=35). We compared them with patients with normal coronary arteries (control group, n=31). The serum levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), E-selectin and P-selectin were measured in all subjects.Results The serum level of VCAM-1 in the AMI group was significantly higher than in the UAP, SAP and control groups (P ＜0.01). The level in the UAP group was significantly higher than the SAP group and control group (P ＜0.01) and the level in the SAP group was significantly higher than in the control group (P ＜0.01). The serum ICAM-1 level was significantly elevated in the AMI, UAP and SAP groups as compared to the control group (P ＜0.01). The levels of serum E-selectin and P-selectin in the AMI and UAP groups were significantly higher than in the SAP and control groups (P＜0.01).Conclusions Increased levels of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1, E-selectin and P-selectin, as markers of inflammation, showed the importance of inflammatory processes in the development of atherosclerosis and clinical expression of CAD. Soluble ICAM-1, VCAM-1, E-selectin and P-selectin concentrations are useful indicators of the presence of atherosclerosis and the severity of CAD clinical presentation.