To identify whether genotype contributes to the difference in PAI-1 levels in type 1 and type 2 diabetic subjects and whether genotype relates to the development of retinopathy, a Hind III restriction fragment length polymorphism and two dinucleotide repeat polymorphisms were studied. In 519 Caucasian diabetic subjects (192 type 1, 327 type 2) and 123 Caucasian control subjects there were no differences in the frequency of the Hind III restriction alleles (type 1 vs type 2 vs control: allele 1 0.397 vs 0.420 vs 0.448; allele 2 0.603 vs 0.580 vs 0.552) nor in the allelic frequency at either dinucleotide repeat sequence. In 86 subjects with no retinopathy at 15 years or more from diagnosis of diabetes and 190 subjects with diabetic retinopathy there was no difference in the frequency of Hind III restriction alleles (retinopathy present vs retinopathy absent: allele 1 0.400 vs 0.467; allele 2 0.600 vs 0.533) nor in the allelic frequencies at either dinucleotide repeat sequence. The results indicate that there is no or minimal influence of the PAI-1 gene on either PAI-1 levels or the development of diabetic retinopathy in patients with diabetes mellitus.