Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease with a series of metabolic changes accompanied by many altered enzymes. Here, we report that the down-regulated dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase-1 (DDAH1) is accompanied by increased asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) in degenerated chondrocytes and in OA samples. Global or chondrocyte-conditional knockout of ADMA hydrolase accelerated OA development in mice. ADMA induces the degeneration and senescence of chondrocytes and reduces the extracellular matrix deposition, thereby accelerating OA progression. ADMA simultaneously binds to and its deubiquitinating enzyme USP7, blocking the deubiquitination effects of USP7 on and therefore leads to SOX9 degradation. The ADMA level in synovial fluids of patients with OA is increased and has predictive value for OA diagnosis with good sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, activating to reduce ADMA level might be a potential therapeutic strategy for OA treatment.