The present study analyzed the polymorphisms of DNA repair genes and their impact on the survival of 240 patients with early breast cancer. The genomic DNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded tumor-free tissue or blood, and thirteen polymorphisms in 12 DNA repair genes were determined using the Sequenom Mass array system. Among the target polymorphisms, VARS2 rs2074511 and POLE rs5744857 were found to correlate with survival after curative surgery in a log-rank test. No difference was found in the clinical and tumor characteristics according to the genotypes of these two coding variants, except for a higher incidence of positive ER in patients with the GG genotype of POLE rs5744857 (P=0.025). Meanwhile, a multivariate analysis showed that the GG genotype of VARS2 V552 V (rs2301717) was significantly associated with disease-free survival (DFS; HR=0.298; P=0.044) and marginally with distant DFS (DDFS; HR=0.266; P=0.077). In particular, the VARS2 rs2074511 polymorphism was only associated with survival in patients with triple negative (TN)-type breast cancer (P=0.018 for DFS and 0.042 for DDFS, respectively). In conclusion, VARS2 V552V may be considered as a prognostic factor for survival in patients with early breast cancer.