Interindividual variation in lung cancer susceptibility may be modulated in part through genetic polymorphisms in the DNA repair genes, especially the genes involved in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. The xeroderma pigmentosum complementary group D (XPD) is one of the NER genes, and two of the XPD polymorphisms 751A --> C and 312G --> A have been extensively studied in the association with lung cancer, although published studies have been inconclusive. To clarify the impact of XPD polymorphisms on lung cancer risk, we performed a meta-analysis of the published data from nine (10 comparisons) individual case-control studies of 3725 lung cancer cases and 4152 controls. The results showed that individuals with the XPD 751CC genotype had a 21% (odds ratio (OR)= 1.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02-1.43) increased risk of lung cancer compared with individuals with the 751AA genotype without any between-study heterogeneity (P = 0.26). There was also a significant association in the recessive model of 751 C allele by comparing the CC with AC + AA genotypes (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.02-1.40). The results also showed a significantly increased risk of lung cancer associated with the 312AA homozygous genotype compared with the GG genotype and the 312 A allele in the recessive model (compared with GA + AA genotypes) (OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.04-1.56 and OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.09-1.59, respectively). These results support the hypothesis that both the XPD 751 C and 312 A are risk alleles and individuals with the XPD 751 CC and 312 AA genotypes are at higher risk of developing lung cancer. Large multi-center studies with precise design, and stratified/adjusted analyses of the gene-gene (haplotypes) and gene-environment interactions are needed.