To explore the cause leading to the difference in incidence of gastric cancer between Linqu and Cangshan populations, Shandong Province,and to provide evidence for the possible mechanism of high incidence of gastric cancer in Linqu County,the distribution of T59G mutation in Lewis gene was screened between Linqu and Cangshan populations by PCR-sequencing.The frequency of individuals with T59G mutation was 34.5% in Linqu population and 31.6% in Cangshan population,respectively,with no significant difference, P>0.05, and OR is 1.14 (95% CI,0.59-2.19). This suggests that Linqu and Cangshan populations may share the same genetic background.T59G mutation of Lewis gene could not be used as a genetic marker for Linqu and Cangshan populations and is not relevant to the difference in incidence of gastric cancer between them.