The objective of this study was to evaluate the possible association between the CD14-159 polymorphism and adult asthma in the Chinese population. A total of 188 asthmatic patients and 60 healthy adults were enrolled in the present study, and the CD14-159 polymorphism was genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‑RFLP) analysis. The results showed that the frequencies of CC, CT and TT genotypes were 12.2, 47.9, and 39.9%, respectively, in the asthma group, and 8.3, 50.0, and 41.7%, respectively, in healthy adults, with no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The frequencies of C and T allele were 36.2 and 63.8%, respectively, in the asthma group, 33.3 and 66.7%, respectively, in the healthy group, and no statistical difference was observed in the allele frequencies between the two groups (P>0.05). Our data suggest that the CD14-159 polymorphism is not associated with adult asthma in Chinese population.