Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms have previously been associated with susceptibility to renal cell carcinoma, although the findings are inconsistent. This study therefore evaluated the association of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in VDR (FokI, BsmI, and TaqI) with the risk of renal cell carcinoma in five previous studies of a total of 1,510 cases and 2,101 controls identified from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Wanfang databases. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and stratified analysis by ethnicity was conducted for further estimation. All statistical analyses were conducted using STATA software. Obvious heterogeneity was noted among the five studies. The VDR BsmI polymorphism was not found to be associated with renal cell carcinoma risk, although subgroup analysis revealed a significant association with renal cell carcinoma risk in Asians (b vs B OR=1.479, 95 % CI=1.171-1.869, P OR=0.001 and bb vs BB OR=2.608, 95 % CI=1.529-4.449, P OR=0.001). No significant association was found between renal cell carcinoma risk and either FokI or TaqI polymorphisms in different models and populations. Further large-scale studies are required to confirm these conclusions.