We design a study to evaluate whether patients with chronic aortic occlusion have a different pattern of femoral artery atherosclerosis than patients with other forms of aortoiliac disease as well as to discuss potential causal mechanisms. From January 2008 to January 2010, 467 patients with aortoiliac occlusive disease were enrolled at Clinic of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery in Belgrade, Serbia. Among them 60 patients were divided into two groups, patients with chronic aortic occlusion (COA) and diffuse aortoiliac occlusive disease (AIOD, Leriche type II). Each group consisted of 30 patients. Those two groups were compared according to symptomatology, ABI values, femoral artery pressure gradient, atherosclerosis level in the femoral region and predictors of atherosclerosis.Patients with AIOD had severe atherosclerosis unlike patients with COA. Also, high elevation of postoperative ABIs in patients with an early atherosclerosis (0, I, II and III) was noted suggesting patent distal arterial tree. FAP gradient was significantly higher in COA group comparing with AIOD group (left: t = – 10.963, P < 0.01;right: t = – 8.962, P < 0.01). In conclusion, our data demonstrate that older patients have had more time to develop multilevel disease (AOID) and those with CAO have more isolated aortic disease chronic aortic occlusion.