Many studies have reported the role of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) -509C/T or +869T/C polymorphism with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. However, these studies have yielded conflicting results. Hence, we performed this meta-analysis to investigate the association between TGF-β1 -509C/T or +869T/C polymorphism and HCC. A total of 11 studies including 2,577 HCC cases and 4,107 controls were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, TGF-β1 -509C/T (or +869T/C) polymorphism was not associated with HCC risk (homogeneous co-dominant model: OR = 1.29, 95 % CI = 0.88-1.89; heterogeneous co-dominant model: OR = 1.15, 95 % CI = 0.91-1.45; dominant model: OR = 1.14, 95 % CI = 0.87-1.48; recessive model: OR = 1.15, 95 % CI = 0.89-1.49). In the subgroup analysis, TGF-β1 -509C/T (or +869T/C) polymorphism was significantly associated with HCC risk in Caucasians under the recessive model (OR = 1.65, 95 % CI = 1.07-2.55) but not in other genetic models. In addition, we did not observe significant association in Asians under all genetic models. In conclusion, our meta-analysis indicates that TGF-β1 -509C/T (or +869T/C) polymorphism was not associated with risk of HCC, although a marginal association was found for Caucasians. However, a study with the larger sample size is needed to further evaluate gene-environment interaction on the association.