ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between the mannose-binding lectin 2 (MBL2) codon 52 A/D gene polymorphism and tuberculosis risk by meta-analysis. MethodsThe Embase, PubMed, China National Knowledg Infrastructure, Wanfang databases were searched to identify domestic and foreign case-control studies involving the association between MBL2 codon 52 A/D gene polymorphism and tuberculosis risk from establishment of these database till May 20, 2015. Two reviewers collected data according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and extracted data and assessed quality of the literature. Meta analysis was performed by RevMan 5.2 software and Stata 10.0 software. ResultsIn total, 1 282 cases and 1 483 controls from nine case-control studies were included in this meta-analysis. According to the test of heterogeneity, there was statistical heterogeneity among these studies (P < 0.1). Thus, we conducted the analysis by the random effect model on the basis of heterogeneity test. The results indicated that MBL2 codon 52 A/D gene polymorphism might not be associated with risk of tuberculosis [DD+AD versus AA: OR=1.46, 95% CI (0.87, 2.43), P=0.15] in total analysis by random effect model. However, when stratifying separately according to ethnicity, a significant association between MBL2 codon 52 A/D gene polymorphism and tuberculosis risk was found in Asians [OR=1.96, 95% CI (1.27, 3.03), P=0.003 for DD+AD versus AA], but not among Caucasians [OR=1.36, 95% CI (0.52, 3.56), P=0.53 for DD+AD versus AA]. Conclusions The present meta-analysis indicates that the polymorphism of MBL2 codon 52 A/D may be a risk factor for TB in Asians. But the MBL2 codon 52 A/D gene polymorphism may not contribute to the risk of tuberculosis in Caucasians.