Lipoproteins are large particles of lipids stabilized by apolipoproteins and they transport lipids in the plasma within the body by specific oriented pathways according to the kind of the lipoproteins. Apolipoproteins have structural and functional roles: they serve as recognition molecules for membrane receptors and are essential partners for enzymes (LPL, LCAT and CETP) that are involved in the metabolism and exchange of lipids. The composition of lipoproteins is slightly different between dogs, cats, horses and humans: VLDLs containing the ApoB48 molecule are identified in dogs and horses. The HDL lipoproteins are the major lipoproteins in animals, but the spherical triglyceride-rich HDL particles are virtually absent because the CETP activity is low. By limiting triglyceride exchanges between lipoproteins, these compositional differences impact the prevalence of atherosclerosis in animals in which the vascular lesions occur secondary to other endocrine and metabolic disorders.