The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the serum levels of complements and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are associated with the severity of myocardial injury. Consecutive patients (n=110) with AMI and 33 healthy individuals, who served as control subjects, were enrolled from May 2013 to February 2015. These patients were divided into two groups, those with ST segment elevation MI (STEMI) and those with non-ST segment elevation MI (NSTEMI). The patients with STEMI exhibited progression to diastolic dysfunction and heart failure. Furthermore, the results revealed that the level of serum complement and hs-CRP in patients with AMI increased rapidly when compared with the subjects from the control group, particularly in the STEMI patients, at different time-points. A statistically significant elevation of the complement and hs-CRP levels was observed at day 3 after AMI in the STEMI group. The activation of complement and hs-CRP following AMI may serve as a specific marker to successfully predict left ventricular dysfunction. Thus, biomarker-based approaches may be adopted to identify the severity of AMI with distinct pathophysiologic responses in order to rationally implement clinical therapeutic strategies.