We studied the effect of the p53 gene Arg72Pro polymorphism on bladder cancer susceptibility in a case control study of 121 bladder cancer patients and 114 age-sex matched controls to determine whether this polymorphism is a biomarker for the risk and how aggressive the disease is. Genomic DNA was obtained from venous blood samples for genotype determination by PCR and restriction digestion. The genotype frequencies in the patient group were Arg/Arg: 0.3553, Arg/Pro: 0.4711, Pro/Pro: 0.1736, and in the control group Arg/Arg: 0.3684, Arg/Pro: 0.4825, Pro/Pro: 0.1491. The distribution of genotypes between the two groups was not statistically different (chi2 = 0.260, df: 2, P=0.878). The patient group was subdivided into two groups as superficial bladder cancer (n = 88) and invasive bladder cancer (n = 33), according to the presence of muscle invasion. The distribution of genotypes in the superficial group was Arg/Arg: 0.3409, Arg/Pro: 0.5114, Pro/Pro: 0.1477 and in the invasive group Arg/Arg: 0.3940, Arg/Pro: 0.3636, Pro/Pro: 0.2424. No association was observed with the invasiveness of the tumor (chi2 = 2.542, df 2, P = 0.281). Stratification of the data by tobacco exposure did not result in a significant difference in genotype frequencies. These data do not support an association between the p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and bladder cancer.