Hypertension results from a complex and diverse array of metabolic and physiologic processes that interact with environmental factors to ultimately determine blood pressure levels and disease. Consequently, the identification of genes related to hypertension is complicated by the heterogeneity of its etiology and the likelihood that several genes with moderate effects, possibly acting in a context-dependent manner, influence blood pressure and the occurrence of hypertension. A number of studies have recently implicated variation within the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor in blood pressure regulation and the development of hypertension. The role of these findings is reviewed here, and their possible clinical implications in human hypertension.