X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) is one of the major DNA repair proteins involved in the base excision repair (BER) and single-strand break repair (SSBR) pathway. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in XRCC1 may alter protein function and repair capacity, thus lead to genetic instability and carcinogenesis. To establish our understanding of possible relationships between XRCC1 polymorphisms (5'UTR -77T>C, Arg194Trp, Arg280His and Arg399Gln) and the susceptibility to lung cancer among women nonsmokers, we performed a hospital-based case-control study of 350 patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer and 350 cancer-free controls, frequency matched by age. Our results showed that exposure to cooking oil fume was associated with increased risk of lung cancer in Chinese women nonsmokers [odds ratio (OR)=2.51, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.80-3.51], P<0.001]. Individuals with homozygous XRCC1 399Gln/Gln genotype (OR=1.75, 95% CI [1.02-3.01]) and XRCC1 -77 combined TC and CC genotype (OR=1.66, 95% CI [1.13-2.42]) showed a slightly higher risk for lung cancer overall. In the subgroup of adenocarcinoma cases, adjusted ORs were increased for individuals with homozygous XRCC1 399Gln/Gln genotype (OR=2.62, 95% CI [1.44-4.79]) and XRCC1 -77 combined TC and CC genotype (OR=1.85, 95% CI [1.19-2.86]). Haplotype analysis showed that T-Trp-Arg-Gln haplotypes were associated with an increased risk of lung cancer among women nonsmokers (OR=2.26, 95% CI [1.38-3.68]), however, we did not observe a statistically significant joint effect of cooking oil fume and 399Gln or -77C variant allele on lung cancer among women nonsmokers. In conclusion, XRCC1 Arg399Gln and T-77C polymorphisms may alter the risk of lung cancer in women nonsmokers in China.