Objective The mean wall shear stress (WSS) and circumferential stress (CS) in common carotid artery (CCA) for spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were investigated by comparing with those in wistar Kyoto rats (WKYs) to determine the characteristics of WSS and CS in CCA in SHRs. Methods Five twelve-week-old SHRs were chosen as an experimental group, with 5 WKYs of the same age as control. The blood pressure and flow rate in CCA were simultaneously measured in vivo, the morphological indices of CCA at no-load state, and the pressure (p)-volume (V) relationship of CCA in vivo under longitudinal stretch ratios were measured in vitro in SHRs and WKYs. Using these data, the mean WSS and CS in CCA in SHRs and WKYs were calculated. The obtained blood pressure and blood flow, the geometrical sizes at no-load and load states, and the mean WSS and CS were compared between SHRs and WKYs. Results The blood pressure in SHRs was significantly higher than that in WKYs, and the flow rate in SHRs was obvious lower than that in WKYs; Both the inner and outer radius at no-load/load state in SHRs were higher than those in WKYs, while the vascular wall thickness in SHRs was smaller than that in WKYs. The mean WSS in SHRs was significantly lower than that in WKYs while the CS in SHRs was significantly higher than that in WKYs. Conclusion High blood pressure and low flow rate may induce the vascular remodeling in CCA. Low WSS together with high CS is important hemodynamic characteristic of CCA. The synergistic action of WSS and CS might be one of the most sensitive indices reflecting arterial remodeling.