Currently it is not well known whether apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a genetic susceptibility factor for cerebrovascular diseases in the Chinese Naxi population. The present study detected and sequenced ApoE polymorphisms of 90 patients with cerebrovascular diseases (58 cases of cerebral infarction and 32 cases of intracerebral hemorrhage), and 50 normal people of Naxi nationality from Yunnan province, China. The populations were used to analyze the relationship of ApoE polymorphisms with cerebral infarction and intracerebral hemorrhage. Results showed an association between ApoE gene polymorphism and the onset of cerebral infarction, and a possibility that the ε4 allele is a susceptibility locus for the risk of cerebral infarction. However, there was no evidence of a relationship between the ApoE gene polymorphism and cerebral hemorrhage.