Prior studies investigating the association between apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphism and the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) have been inconsistent and limited to small sample sizes. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that APOE gene polymorphisms are associated with the risk of ICH in Chinese Han patients. We enrolled 180 ICH patients and 180 controls. APOE genotype was determined by using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. ICH patients had a significantly lower frequency ɛ3/ɛ3 [odds ratio (OR)=0.45, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.28, 0.71; p=0.001] and ɛ3 allele (OR=0.51, 95% CI=0.35, 0.76; p=0.001) than healthy controls. ICH patients also had a significantly higher frequency ɛ3/ɛ4 (OR=3.61, 95% CI=1.89, 6.88; p<0.001) and ɛ4 allele (OR=3.00, 95% CI=1.76, 5.13; p<0.001) than healthy controls. This study suggests that the APOE genotype is associated with the risk of ICH in Chinese Han patients.