Atherosclerosis, which is the main consequence of a complicated inflammatory process, has threatened human health seriously. Tumor necrosis factor alpha is a multifunctional cytokine which is regarded to mediate the inflammatory response by activating various signaling pathways. A large number of studies showed that tumor necrosis factor alpha could not only induce the injure of vascular endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells, but also induced the migration of monocytes and endothelial cell adhesion and foam cell formation. At the same time, the stability of the plaque may also be affected, tumor necrosis factor alpha crucially involved in the pathogenesis and progression of atherosclerosis. This article made a review on the studies researched on pathogenesis of atherosclerosis due to tumor necrosis factor alpha.