The Pro12Ala polymorphism of PPAR gamma 2 has been shown to influence hypertension and the benefit of longevity in previous studies. We examined whether the polymorphism was related to essential hypertension among long-lived subjects (is greater than 90 years). The Pro12Ala variant was examined using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism in a population-based sample of 839 long-lived subjects (mean 94 years SD 4 years, aged 90-108 years). The genotype frequencies of the Pro12Ala polymorphism were 0.2% Ala12Ala, 9.4% Pro12Ala and 90.4% Pro12Pro in all participants. The frequency of the Ala12 allele was 3.45% in the hypertension group and 6.92% among the normotension group (P=0.001). Moreover, in the total study population, Ala12 allele carriers had lower levels of triglycerides (1.03+/-0.5 mmol/L (means+/-SD) vs. 1.25+/-0.61 mmol/L; P<0.001). In conclusion, these results suggest that the Pro12Ala polymorphism of the PPAR gamma 2 gene is associated with hypertension and triglycerides levels in Chinese nonagenarians/centenarians.