Abstract: Objective To investigate the correlation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) -460C/T gene polymorphism with diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods The 204 patients with diabetes (WHO 1999 diagnostic criteria) were divided into three groups: (1) Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR,n=65),(2) Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR,n=64),(3)Diabetes without retinopathy(DM,n=75).Subjects with NGT(n=98) were taken as a control. The VEGF genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The frequencies of VEGF genotype and allele were compared among these groups. Results The C allele frequencies were significantly higher in NPDR and DPR groups than in groups of DM and control. Compared with genotype TT,the morbidity of diabetic retinopathy in genotypes of CC and CT was significantly increased. The C allele frequency was not different between non-PDR and PDR group. Conclusions VEGF -460C/T polymorphism is associated with the development of diabetic retinopathy. C allele is probably a susceptible gene of diabetic retinopathy