Introduction Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by lipid accumulation, inflammation and apoptosis of the arterial wall. This study evaluated the effects of lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI) on endothelial cells activation and autophagy in AS. Methods qRT-PCR and Western blotting were done to verify the expression of ICAM1, GPR55 and SOD2. RNA-Seq was performed and screened for the different expressions of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), combining bioinformatics analysis to elucidate the mechanism by which lncRNA functions. Results qRT-PCR and Western blotting results showed that LPI increased GPR55 and ICAM1 expression. RNA-Seq analysis and qRT-PCR results showed that LPI increased the expression of LINC01235, LINC00520 and LINC01963; LINC01235 was the most obvious. Mechanistically, bioinformatic analysis demonstrated that LINC01235 inhibited autophagy through sponging miR-224-3p. And miRNA-224-3p targeted RABEP1. Conclusions LPI promoted endothelial cell activation. LPI induced the expression of LINC01235 and LINC01235 inhibited autophagy through miR-224-3p/RABEP1. Collectively, this study first reveals the function of LINC01235, which may serve as a potential therapeutic target in AS.