Minorities constitute 17.8% of the US population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). The health status of minorities is a particular public health concern: empirical data have suggested that minorities in the US suffer disproportionately higher rates of disease and other chronic diseases caused by physical inactivity than whites. Minority college students can serve as role models of a physically active lifestyle by establishing habitual physical activity (PA) patterns in their communities and thereby increase the overall physical activity levels among minorities. Therefore, it is important to ensure that minority college students have developed and maintained lifetime active PA patterns. Studies on college student PA by ethnicity, however, are rare and therefore understanding of minority college student PA behaviors is incomplete. The purpose of this study was to examine minority community college student risks for cardiovascular disease and their PA patterns. Minority students (N = 291) at a community college, which has 2 units of physical education and health education requirement in general education, in a large metropolitan area participated in the project. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and blood pressure were used to estimate risks for potential heart problems while PA patterns were assessed using a pre-validated questionnaire developed by Godin and Shephard (1985) – The weekly leisure-time exercise questionnaire. The data from the study suggested that about two thirds of the participants were at a high risk for heart problems. Moreover, more than two thirds of the participants did not perform adequate amounts of PA. Students who were taking physical education/health education courses reported significantly more PA than those who did not, even though no significant difference in risk levels for poor health was found. The data from the study suggested that there were only significant short-term effects of physical education and health education courses on increasing student PA levels. This group of minority community students urgently needs interventions to improve their overall health and PA levels after taking physical education and health education classes. Further research is needed to investigate the overall effects of those courses on reducing student risks for poor health caused by physical inactivity.Keyword(s): college level issues, physical activity, wellness/disease prevention