Objective A genome-wide association study has identified several gene polymorphisms associated with loss of renal function. The effect of these variants on renal function in kidney transplant recipients receiving immunosuppressive treatment is unknown. Materials and methods A cohort of 189 kidney transplant recipients and their living donors were recruited from West China Hospital of Sichuan University, on whom we assessed the association of five single nucleotide polymorphisms with renal function after kidney transplantation. Results Glomerular filtration rate estimated by serum creatinine was significantly higher in recipients carrying allograft with the A allele at rs17319721 in SHROOM3 (shroom family member 3) than those in the group with the GG genotype from month 1 to month 6 after transplantation (P=0.020). Covariate adjustment analysis showed that the variant at rs17319721 in SHROOM3 was an independent risk factor for renal dysfunction after the first month after transplantation (P=0.022). The estimated glomerular filtration rate was the lowest in recipients with allograft carrying both the A allele at rs17319721 in SHROOM3 and the CC genotype at rs1045642 in ABCB1 (P<0.05). Conclusion The genetic variants in SHROOM3 and ABCB1 in donors were associated closely with renal function after kidney transplantation. Copyright (C) 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.