Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of soluble vascular endothelial adhesion molecule (sVCAM-1) and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) in placental tissues of severe preeclampsia (SPE).Methods A total of 204 patients with gestational hypertension who were hospitalized for cesarean section and terminated pregnancy in our hospital from May 2018 to May 2021 were selected, including 87 patients with gestational hypertension, 65 patients with SPE, and 52 patients with preeclampsia (PE). In addition, 52 healthy pregnant women who were hospitalized and delivered by cesarean section in our hospital were selected as the control group. The expression of sVCAM-1 and GDF-15 in the placental tissues of all subjects was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The relative expression levels of sVCAM-1 and GDF-15 mRNA in placental tissues of different populations were analyzed, and the factors affecting SPE occurrence were analyzed.Results The mRNA relative expression levels of sVCAM-1 and GDF-15 in the placental tissues of the control group were lower than the gestational hypertension group, PE group, and SPE group (P < 0.05), and the mRNA relative expression levels of sVCAM-1 and GDF-15 in the gestational hypertension group were lower than the PE and SPE group (P < 0.05). The mRNA relative expression levels of sVCAM-1 and GDF-15 in PE group were lower than SPE group (P < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the relative expression of sVCAM-1 and GDF-15 mRNA in the SPE group was positively correlated (P < 0.05). Logistic multifactor regression analysis showed that the relative expression levels of SVCAM-1 [O^R = 3.550 (95% CI: 1.461, 8.628) ] and GDF-15 mRNA [O^R = 4.059 (95% CI: 1.670, 9.865) ] were the influencing factors of SPE occurrence (P < 0.05).Conclusion The abnormal expression of sVCAM-1 and GDF-15 in placental tissues may be related to the pathogenesis of PE, and the high expression of sVCAM-1 and GDF-15 may lead to the progression of SPE in PE patients.