We aimed to determine the indecisive association between tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand receptor 1 (TRAIL-R1) Thr209Arg polymorphism and inherited susceptibility to cancer. A meta-analysis combining data on 9,517 individuals was performed to assess the association between TRAIL-R1 Thr209Arg and cancer incidence. The summary ORs with 95% CI calculated with the fixed effects model suggested that Thr209Arg was not significantly associated with cancer susceptibility (homozygous model: OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.88-1.09; heterozygous model: OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.87-1.04; allele frequency model: OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.94-1.05; dominant model: OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.91-1.05; recessive model: OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.92-1.10). Stratified analysis by ethnicity and cancer type yielded similar null associations. These statistical data suggest that Thr209Arg in exon 4 of the TRAIL-R1 gene may not represent a modifier of susceptibility to cancer.