Objective To determine the increase of apoptosis and the decrease of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) density in human abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Methods In situ terminal transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) was employed to detect apoptosis of SMCs in patients with AAA (n=25) and normal abdominal aortae (n=10). Positive cells were identified by specific cell marker in combination with immunohistochemistry. Meanwhile SMC counting was performed by anti-α-actin immunohistostaining to compare the SMC density. Results TUNEL staining revealed that there was significantly increased apoptosis in AAAs (average 8.6%) compared with normal abdominal aortae (average 0.95%, P<0.01). Double staining showed that most of these cells were SMCs. Counting of α-actin positive SMCs revealed that medial SMC density of AAAs (37.5±7.6 SMCs /HPF) was reduced by 79.1% in comparison with that of normal abdominal aortae (179.2±16.1 SMCs /HPF, P<0.01). Conclusions Significantly increased SMCs of AAA bear apoptotic markers initiating cell death. Elevated apoptosis may result in a decreased density of SMCs in AAA, which may profoundly influence the development of AAA.