Endothelial cell-coated stents have attracted interest as an ideal treatment method for preventing restenosis following stent deployment to the peripheral locations. In an attempt to evaluate the proliferation and differentiation activities of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), the acetylated polysaccharide, pullulan acetate (PA), loaded with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (PA/V), a major potential factor influencing vascularization, was examined as a coating for peripherally placed stents. The surface of the PA/V-coated stents observed by scanning electron microscopy was smoother than that of the bare nitinol stents. In an in vitro study, the HUVECs attached to PA/V-coated stents survived and proliferated well compared to the bare stents or stents with only a PA coating (without VEGF). These results were supported by in vivo tests using nude mice. In addition, histology and immunohistochemistry analyses showed that mature endothelial cell-specific markers were expressed at high levels by HUVECs attached to PA-coated stents when VEGF was released. These results suggest that coating stents with PA/V provides a new effective approach for increasing endothelization and prevents stent restenosis.