BACKGROUND As a pleiotropic cytokine, interleukin-10 (IL-10) plays a regulatory role in carcinogenesis and tumor growth. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the susceptibility of the IL-10 gene C-819T polymorphism to gastric cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS Study identification and data extraction were independently completed by 2 authors. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated and summarized. RESULTS In total, 11 articles including 1960 gastric cancer patients and 3705 controls were qualified. Overall analyses revealed a 13% reduced risk of gastric cancer conferred by the -819T allele relative to the -819C allele (OR=0.87; 95% CI: 0.77-0.97; P=0.016), without heterogeneity (I2=35.1%). In subgroup analyses, a significant difference was identified in East Asian populations (OR=0.85; 95% CI: 0.73-0.98; P=0.029, I2=43.6%), for gastric adenocarcinoma (OR=0.80; 95% CI: 0.66-0.96; P=0.017, I2=0.0%), and in population-based studies (OR=0.81; 95% CI: 0.70-0.93; P=0.003, I2=0.0%). The visual funnel plots and Egger's tests suggested no evidence of publication bias. CONCLUSIONS Extending previous findings, we demonstrate a protective role of the IL-10 gene -819T allele in susceptibility to gastric cancer, and this role was more evident for gastric adenocarcinoma.