Over the past decade a growing interest has been devoted to exploring the role of atherosclerosis in the development of dementia. Despite a well-known association between atherosclerosis risk factors in middle-life with later cognitive decline, the pathophysiological pathways underlying this association remain unclear. The current hypothesis is that neurodegenerative and vascular lesions coexist and have a synergistic role in the development of cognitive impairment and dementia. Carotid atherosclerosis (e.g. carotid plaques and intima-media thickness as measured by carotid ultrasonography) has been associated with cognitive decline and dementia and may help to better understand the complex interaction between the vascular and neurodegenerative processes. Furthermore, carotid atherosclerosis has been used in the recent field for dementia risk prediction. In this review, we discuss the physiopathological implications from the current available data on the relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and dementia as well as the interest of carotid biomarkers for individual dementia risk prediction.