Abstract： Objective To investigate the association of HLA-DRB31*03,*04 and *11 alleles with alopecia areata(AA)in Han Nationality in East China.Methods Polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer(PCR-SSP)method was conducted in 158 Chinese Han patients with AA as well as in 172 healthy human controls in East China.The relationships of HLA-DRB1 polymorphism to age of onset,episode frequency,clinical course,family history,and severity of AA were evaluated.Results No significant differences were observed for the frequency of HLA DRB1*03,*11 alleles between the patients and human controls,while increased frequency of HLA-DRB1*04 was observed in patients(OR=1.99,Pc=0.01).Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that HLA-DRB1*04 was more prevalent in patients with an onset after 16 years of age(OR=1.94,Pc=0.02),those without family history(OR=1.97,Pc=0.02),those with recurrent AA(OR=2.49,Pc=0.02),those with a clinical course of more than 1 year(OR=2.94,Pc=0.01),those with severe AA(OR=3.53,Pc=0.00)and tbose with single episode of AA(OR=1.83,Pc=0.04)in comparison with the normal human controls.Conclusion This study demonstrates that HLA-DRB1*04 allele is associated with the occurrence and clinical types of AA in Han Nationality in East China.