Objective: To evaluate the relationship between-590C/T polymorphisms of interleukin-4 gene and periodontitis by meta-analysis. Methods: Databases including PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP, were searched from their establishment to December 31, 2016. Only case-control studies on the association between -590C/ T polymorphisms of interleukin-4 gene and periodontitis were selected, and the references of those selected studies were searched by hand. Assessment and data extraction were conducted by 2 reviewers independently, and the meta-analysis was performed with the R 3.3.1 software. Results : The meta-analysis showed that there was no association between the IL-4-590C/T polymorphism and periodontitis susceptibility (T vs C: OR=1.19, 95%CI=0.81~1.76, P =0.37). Subgroup analysis showed that the IL-4 -590 TT was associated with periodontitis in Caucasians (TT vs CT: OR=1.75, 95%CI=1.10 ~ 2.78, P = 0.02), but no significant association in Asians (P =0.63). Meanwhile, IL-4 gene polymorphisms were not significantly associated with the susceptibility of chronic periodontitis (CP) or aggressive periodontitis (AgP) ( e. g. T vs C, CP: P=0.45; AgP: P =0.45). Conclusion Based on current evidence, the polymorphisms of IL-4-590C/T are associated with the increased risk of periodontitis in Caucasians.