Atherosclerosis (AS) remains the leading cause for global cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality, and a major cause of cardiopathy, myocardial infarction and peripheral vascular diseases. Macrophages serve a critical role in atherosclerotic plaque stabilization and rupture, and the selective removal of macrophages may be beneficial in improving plaque stability. Autophagy is a process of self‑feeding, during which cytoplasmic proteins or organelles are packaged into vesicles and fused with the lysosome to form an autophagosome. The newly formed autophagosome can degrade internalized proteins, and this process may be used to serve the metabolic and self‑renewal requirements of the cell. Autophagy serves an important role in maintaining cell homeostasis and promoting cell survival, and therefore an imbalance in autophagy is closely associated with multiple diseases.