Doukefei, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Fu Wai Hospital, Beijing, China Statins are widely used as lipid-regulating drugs, but they also have certain adverse effects, the common ones being muscle toxicity and hepatotoxicity. Therefore, some groups of people are not suitable for the application of statins: those with abnormal liver function, patients with myopathy, female patients during pregnancy and lactation and those who are not using contraception are prohibited. Patients prone to myopathy or even rhabdomyolysis, such as those with abnormal renal function, hypothyroidism, personal or family history of myopathy, history of previous statin-induced myopathy, previous history of liver disease, and alcohol abuse, should use statins with caution under medical supervision. Such patients are prone to myopathy and even fatal rhabdomyolysis.