Abstract: Objective To evaluate whether the Drepeat polymorphism was associated with knee osteoarthritis(OA)in Han Chinese.Methods The Drepeat polymorphism was genotyped in 218 patients suffered from primary symptomatic knee OA with radiographic confirmation and in 454 age-matched cotrols,and allelic association of the repeat was examined.Results Frequencies of the D13 and D14 alleles were similar to those of Japanese,but different from those of European Caucasians.The D14 allele was significantly over-represented in knee OA patients(P=0.003;odds ratio 2.04;95% confidence interval 1.32～3.15).D14 was more frequent in early-onset patients than in late-onset patients(P=0.043)and the age at onset in patients with D14 was younger(P=0.028;log-rank test).Conclusion The association of the D14 allele with knee OA susceptibility was replicated in Han Chinaese.The OA susceptibility gene was definitely replicated between different ethnic groups.