Objectives: To investigate the association between interleukin-1 (IL-1) gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to severe chronic periodontitis and generalized aggressive periodontitis in Chinese Han nationality. Methods: DNA samples were collected using buccal swabs from 30 patients with severe chronic periodontitis (S-CP), 20 patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis (G-AgP), and 94 ethnically matched healthy controls. IL-1A-889/Ncol and IL-1B+3954/TaqI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), and IL-1RN intron 2 variable numbers of an 86-bp tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphisms were analyzed with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-RFLP. Results: Our findings show that all three loci allele 2 frequencies in Chinese population were much lower than those previously reported for European Caucasian populations. The frequency of IL-1B+3954/TaqI allele 2 was significantly higher in both the S-CP and G-AgP groups (P < 0.01) compared to the control group. The frequency of IL-1RN intron II/VNTR allele 2 was significantly higher in S-CP group (P < 0.05) than in control group. Conclusion: IL-1B+3954/TaqI allele 2 and IL-1RN intron II/VNTR allele 2 may contribute to increased susceptibility to severe chronic periodontitis and generalized aggressive periodontitis in some patients. But given the low frequency of allele 2 of both IL-1B+3954 and IL-1RN (VNTR), wer believe another gene loci may play a role in influencing the susceptibility of Chinese people to periodontitis.