BACKGROUND: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a condition characterized by restricted blood flow to the extremities, and is especially common in the elderly. PAD increases the risk for mortality and morbidity in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), especially those on hemodialysis (HD). METHODS: The records of 484 patients with end-stage renal disease who were on HD or peritoneal dialysis (PD) were reviewed. PAD was diagnosed based on the ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI). Demographic and clinical characteristics were analyzed. RESULTS: PAD had an overall prevalence of 18.2% and was significantly more common in HD patients (21.8%) than in PD patients (4.8%). Advanced age, diabetes mellitus, smoking, low parathyroid hormone level, elevated serum ferritin, elevated serum glucose, and low serum creatinine levels increased the risk for PAD. PAD was independently associated with advanced age, diabetes mellitus, duration of dialysis, low serum creatinine, and hyperlipidemia. PD patients had a significantly lower prevalence of PAD than HD patients, maybe due to their younger age and lower prevalence of diabetes mellitus in this present study. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of PAD was greater in the HD group than the PD group. Most of the risk factors for PAD were specific to HD, and no analyzed factor was significantly associated with PAD in PD patients.