Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Although the incidence of CVD in women is usually lower than in men, women have a higher mortality and worse prognosis after acute cardiovascular events. These gender differences exist in various CVDs, including coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure and aortic diseases. These gender differences have caused widespread concerns and the consideration of gender differences is of great importance for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of CVD. This review aims to provide an overview of gender-related differences in several typical CVDs and to list and to analyze the possible causes associated with the differences, in order to highlight the necessity of taking into account gender differences in determination of the cardiovascular risk profile. Future research can focus on how to define and add gender-related indicators to current risk assessment and management strategies.