To explore the real association between p53 codon 72 polymorphism and lung cancer risk, a pooled analysis of 32 case-control studies involving 19,255 subjects was conducted. When all 32 studies were pooled into the analysis, significantly elevated lung cancer risks were associated with variant genotypes in all genetic models (for Pro/Arg vs. Arg/Arg: OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.01-1.23; for Pro/Pro vs. Arg/Arg: OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.03-1.39; for Pro/Pro + Pro/Arg vs. Arg/Arg: OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.03-1.25; for Pro/Pro vs. Arg/Arg + Pro/Arg: OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.12). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, histological type, or smoking status, significantly increased risks were found in subgroups such as Asians, Caucasians, lung adenocarcinoma patients, or smokers, respectively. In conclusion, our results suggest that the Pro allele at p53 codon 72 is emerging as a low-penetrance susceptibility allele for lung cancer development.