ObjectiveTo study the relationship between the susceptibility of mutiple sclerosis (MS) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) rs6897932 of interleukin-7 receptor alpha (IL-7RA) in Asian.MethodsThe SNP rs6897932 in the IL-7RA gene was genotyped by real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays. 78 cases with MS and neuromyelitis optica (NMO), 187 patients with non-NMO MS and 158 healthy controls were enrolled.ResultsThe frequencies of both the C allele and the CC genotype of SNP rs6897932 in the IL-7RA gene in non-NMO MS patients were higher than those of healthy controls(89.3％ vs. 79.8％, OR=2.12, 95％CI:1.38-3.25 P＜0.01; 78.6％ vs. 63.3％, OR=2.13,95％CI:1.32-3.43, P＜0.01).However, there was no significant difference in the frequency of either the C allele or the CC genotype between control group and NMO patients.ConclusionsIL-7RA gene is one of susceptibility gene for MS in Asian. C allele was presumed as a risk factor of MS while T allele might be a protective factor.