ObjectiveTo investigate the association of IL-17 gene promoter single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) with childhood asthma and total serum IgE level in children. MethodsThe genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of 287 asthmatic children and 217 healthy children. Four SNPs (rs4711998, rs8193036, rs3819024 and rs2275913) in the IL-17 gene promoter were detected by PCR-LDR (polymerase chain reaction-ligation detection reaction), and the results were compared with those in GenBank (IL-17, NT_007952.15 GI: 224514668). The genotype and allele frequencies were analyzed in asthmatic children with different total serum IgE levels. ResultsNotable diversity was found in SNP rs4711998 between the asthmatic and control groups (P=0.03), with the frequency of genotype GG in the asthmatic group being significantly higher than that in the control group (9.6% vs 4.1%). There was no significant diversity in other three SNPs (rs8193036, rs3819024 and rs2275913) between the two groups.The four SNP genotypes were not associated with the total serum IgE levels in asthma patients. ConclusionThe SNP rs4711998 may be a susceptibility gene for asthma in children,and rs4711998 GG genotype is closely associated with childhood asthma.