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Abstract: Objective: To study the association between smoking, smoking cessation and aortic arc calcification (AAC) in an older Chinese population. Methods: A total of 3022 men and 7279 women aged 50–85 years were recruited and received a medical check-up including measurement of fasting plasma vascular risk factors. Two radiologists reviewed the posterior–anterior plain chest X-ray radiographs and assessed AAC together. Information on smoking status, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors was collected. Results: The crude prevalence of AAC in men (38.58%) was lower than that in women (41.37%). The adjusted odds ratios of AAC increased significantly across never, ex- and current smokers in both genders. Dose–response relationships were observed among current smokers for smoking amount (cigarettes/day), smoking duration (years) and cigarette pack-years in both genders (all p <0.01). The odds ratios decreased significantly (p =0.018) with longer duration of quitting in light ex-smoking men (<23.5 pack-years) but showed no beneficial effect (p =0.72) for heavy ex-smokers (≥23.5 pack-years). Conclusion: Smoking increased the risk of AAC in Chinese, while smoking cessation decreased the risk only in male light ex-smokers. Chest X-ray is a cheap and simple method to detect AAC, which should be an important warning signal for immediate smoking cessation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]