PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine whether vitamin D receptor (lVDR) polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to melanoma. METHODS: A meta-analysis was carried out to investigate the association between the VDR FokI, BsmI, TaqI, ApaI, and EcoRV polymorphisms and susceptibility to melanoma. RESULTS: A total of 11 studies were evaluated, which included 4,413 patients and 4,072 controls (all European). The meta-analysis revealed no association between melanoma and the BsmI B allele (odds ratio/OR=0.901, 95% confidence interval/CI=0.783-1.036, p=0.144). However, an association was shown between melanoma and the Bb+bb genotype (OR=0.868, 95% CI=0.767-0.982, p=0.025). No association was noticed between melanoma and FokI polymorphism (OR for the F allele=1.016, 95% CI=0.869-1.189, p=0.839). Moreover, melanoma risk was not associated with the TaqI, ApaI, and EcoRV polymorphisms (OR for the T allele=0.986, 95% CI=0.842-1.156, p=0.864; OR for the A allele=0.949, 95% CI=0.842-1.069, p=0.388; OR for the E allele=0.993, 95% CI=0.875-1.126, p=0.911, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis demonstrated that the VDR BsmI polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to melanoma in Europeans, suggesting that carrying the VDR BsmI B allele may be a protective factor against melanoma development.