Background and purpose : Stroke is one of the most deadly diseases and a leading cause of disability. Lipids confer an increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In spite of many studies on the relationship between stroke and lipids, their relationship is not clear. This study was undertaken to determine whether lipids were associated with stroke. Method : We compared the components of blood lipids between stroke patients group (n=217,Cases), non-stroke control group (n=160, Controls) and healthy control group without hypertension, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, or hyperlipidemia (n=140, Normals). These data were statically analyzed by general linear models and binary logistic regression analysis to get each adjusted odds ratio. Result : The results were as follows. The blood levels of total cholesterol (T-Chol), triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-Chol) were significantly higher in patients of ischemic stroke, while the blood levels of T-Chol and LDL-Chol were significantly lower, and the blood levels of TG significantly higher in patients of hemorrhagic stroke. The blood level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-Chol) was significantly lower in all cases. Conclusion : These results suggest that high TG and low HDL-Chol may be risk factors of hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic stroke, high T-Chol and LDL-Chol may be risk factors of ischemic stroke, and low T-Chol and LDL-Chol may be risk factors of hemorrhagic stroke in Koreans.