The genetic polymorphism of p53 codon 72 Arg/Pro has been implicated in oral cancer risk, but the results of previous studies remain controversial and ambiguous. To estimate the effect of the p53 codon 72 Arg/Pro polymorphism on the risk of oral cancer, a meta-analysis was performed. Based on a comprehensive search in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases, we identified all available publications assessing the association between p53 codon 72 Arg/Pro polymorphism and oral cancer risk. The pooled odds ratio (OR) with its corresponding 95 % confidence interval (CI) was calculated to assess the association. Subgroup analyses by ethnicity and study quality were performed to further identify the correlation. Totally, 17 studies with 2,975 cases and 3,413 controls were included into this meta-analysis. There was no statistically significant association between the p53 codon 72 Arg/Pro polymorphism and oral cancer risk in all genetic contrast models (OR(Pro allele vs. Arg allele) = 1.05, 95 % CI 0.94-1.18, P(OR) = 0.379; OR(Pro/Pro vs. Arg/Arg) = 1.11, 95 % CI 0.89-1.40, P(OR) = 0.356; OR(Pro/Arg vs. Arg/Arg) = 1.10, 95 % CI 0.93-1.30, P(OR) = 0.256; OR(Pro/Arg + Pro/Pro vs. Arg/Arg) = 1.10, 95 % CI 0.93-1.31, P(OR) = 0.263; and OR(Pro/Pro vs. Arg/Arg + Pro/Arg) = 1.03, 95 % CI 0.90-1.18, P(OR) = 0.647). In the subgroup analysis of high-quality studies, we failed to find the susceptibility of p53 codon 72 Arg/Pro polymorphism to oral cancer. Moreover, the results were similar among Asians, Caucasians, and mixed populations when stratifying by ethnicity. Sensitivity analysis further confirmed the stability of the results. The present meta-analysis of currently available data shows no association between the p53 codon 72 Arg/Pro polymorphism and oral cancer risk.