By means of polym erase chain reaction- restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR- RFL P) assay,the association between vitamine D receptor (VDR) genotypes and bone min- eral density (BMD) in the patients receiving long- term glucocorticoid therapy was studied.The clinical data and blood of71patients with rheumatosis who received long- term glucocorticoid ther- apy were collected.BMD was m easured by dual- energy X- ray absorptimometry.VDR gene frag- ment(about185 bp) was amplified by PCR from the extracted genomic DNA,then digested with restriction endonuclease Bsm I.The genotypes were evaluated based on the fragment length fol- lowing endonuclease digestion and the association between genotypes and BMD or Z- score values was analyzed.Among the 71cases,the detected genotypes were Bb and bb with the distribution frequency being 11.3% and 88.7% respectively.The distribution frequency of the alleles was in agreement with the Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium.There was no significant difference between the two genotypes in age,gender,body m ass index(BMI) ,disease duration,disease types,time of glucocorticoid administration and cumulative dosage(P>0 .0 5 ) .Osteoporosis rate of the patients with Bb or bb genotype was37.5 % and33.3% respectively,with the difference being notsignif- icant (χ2 =0 .0 5 ,P=0 .8) .The BMD and Z- score values at lumbar spine and femur in two geno- types were not similar,but the difference had no significant (P>0 .0 5 ) .The distribution frequen- cy of bb type of VDR genotypes in Han populations of China was m ore prevalent,followed by Bb and bb types in turn.In the patients receiving long- term glucocorticoid therapy,there was no sig- nificant difference in BMD between Bb and bb genotypes.The data suggest that the VDR geno- types may not be m eans of identifying patients at greater risk of glucocorticoid- induced osteoporo- sis,which await to be further confirmed by a large sample size. The means between polym erase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFL P) assay, the association between vitamine D receptor (VDR) genotypes and bone min- eral density (BMD) in the patients receiving long- term glucocorticoid therapy was studied . The clinical data and blood of patients with rheumatosis who received long-term glucocorticoid ther-apy were collected. BMD was m easured by dual-energy X-ray absorptimometry. VDR gene fragmentation (about185 bp) was amplified by PCR from the extracted genomic DNA, then digested with restriction endonuclease Bsm I. The genotypes were based on the fragment length fol- lowing endonuclease digestion and the association between genotypes and BMD or Z-score values ​​was analyzed. Am the the 71 cases, the detected genotypes were Bb and bb with the distribution frequency being 11.3% and 88.7% respectively. The distribution frequency of the alleles was in agreement with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.There was no significant ant difference between the two genotypes in age, gender, body m ass index (BMI), disease duration, disease types, time of glucocorticoid administration and cumulative dosage (P> 0.05) .Osteoporosis rate of the patients with Bb or bb The genotype was 37.5% and 33.3% respectively, with the difference being notsignificant (χ2 = 0 .0 5, P = 0 .8). The BMD and Z- score values ​​at lumbar spine and femur in two geno- types were not similar, but the difference had no significant (P> 0.05). The distribution frequen- cy of bb type of VDR genotypes in Han populations of China was m ore prevalent, followed by Bb and bb types in turn. the patients receiving long- term glucocorticoid therapy, there was no sig- nificant difference in BMD between Bb and bb genotypes. The data suggest that the VDR geno- types may not be m eans of identifying patients at greater risk of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporo- sis, which await to be further confirmed by a large sample size.