Visfatin is an adipokine that plays a role in the inflammatory process of atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate whether adipokine is associated with the extent of stable coronary artery disease (CAD).The study population included 110 patients who underwent elective coronary angiography (CAG) due to stable angina pectoris. The severity of CAD was assessed by the 'Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With TAXUS and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX)' score. We evaluated patients in two groups: group 1 with a SYNTAX score <22 (low) and group 2 with a SYNTAX score ⩾22 (intermediate to high).Serum visfatin (8.6 ± 4.2 ng/ml 13.4 ± 5.2 ng/ml,  < 0.001) and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels [0.46 (0.25-0.77) mg/dl 0.71 (0.32-1.10) mg/dl,  < 0.001] were lower in group 1. A positive significant correlation was found between serum visfatin level and SYNTAX score ( = 0.559,  < 0.001). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, visfatin [odds ratio (OR) 1.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-1.36;  < 0.001], CRP (OR 6.22, 95% CI 1.70-22.7;  = 0.006), and diabetes mellitus (OR 3.83, 95% CI 1.10-13.2;  = 0.034) were found to be independent predictors of SYNTAX score.Serum visfatin level was positively correlated with CAD severity in patients with high SYNTAX score. Serum visfatin level can be a useful biomarker for predicting high SYNTAX scores in patients with angina pectoris undergoing CAG.