Abstract: Myocardin is a remarkably potent transcriptional coactivator that specifically expresses in cardiovascular system and binds directly to serum response factor. It activates transcription of a subset of SRF-regulated genes encoding cardiomyocytes and smooth muscle cells contractile proteins. Abnormal expression of myocardin is associated with cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, myocardial hypertrophy, hypertension. Here, recent developments in the structure, expression and regulation of myocardin and its relation with cardiovascular diseases were reviewed．

Key words: Myocardin, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, smooth muscle differentiation