Reactive carbonyl species (RCS) have been widely used as indicators of oxidative stress. However, the associations of carbonyl stress with aging process and biochemical alteration of erythrocyte are still poorly understood. Fresh blood samples in vacutainer tubes containing sodium heparinate were obtained from 874 volunteers who were divided into young, adult and old groups based on their age. Plasma RCS and thiols concentrations between different age groups and erythrocyte membrane protein carbonylation in the adult group were detected within 24h of the blood sampling. Results showed that the plasma thiols concentration decreased gradually during aging process, and the p-values between all three groups are less than 0.05. The plasma RCS concentration in different age groups showed a nonlinear association with age. The levels in the young group were slightly higher than the adult group (not significant) and lower than the old group (p < 0.01). The protein carbonylation of erythrocyte membrane was positively correlated with plasma RCS concentration (p < 0.01), but not plasma thiols concentration. We conclude that higher levels of RCS, not lower levels of thiols, in plasma are a direct risk factor for the protein carbonylation of erythrocyte membrane. Owing to the decrease of thiols levels and increase of RCS levels during aging process, a shift from RCS-related redox allostasis to carbonyl stress would contribute to age-related biological dysfunction and even aging process.