Objective To examine the relationship between the vitamin D receptor(VDR) gene polymorphism and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women in Shanghai. Methods 102 postmenopausal women recruited from Ruijin Hospital were osteoporotic. We measured the lumbar vertebrae and femur of all patients with a modal dual-energy X-ray absorptionmetry, and also the serum osteocalcin by ELISA. The VDR gene was amplified using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The VDR genotypes were determined by the PCR-RFLP. Results bb, aa and TT genotype were found mainly in these osteoporosis patients, only one BB and two tt were found among these patients. No significant association was observed among three subgroups of bb, Bb and BB. Conclusion The rareness of B and t alleles suggested that it is unlikely that they are important factors for the heredity of osteoporosis in Chinese women. Thus VDR gene typing may be of little value in assessing the osteoporosis risk in Chinese population. Objective To examine the relationship between the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphism and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women in Shanghai. Methods 102 postmenopausal women were recruited from Ruijin Hospital were osteoporotic. We measured the lumbar vertebrae and femur of all patients with a modal dual-energy The VDR gene was amplified using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The VDR genotypes were determined by the PCR-RFLP. Results bb, aa and TT genotype were found mainly in these osteoporosis patients, only one BB and two tt were found among these patients. No significant association was observed among three subgroups of bb, Bb and BB. Conclusion The rareness of B and t alleles suggested that it is unlikely that they are important factors for the heredity of osteoporosis in Chinese women. Thus VDR gene typing may be of little value in assessing the osteoporosis risk in Chinese population.