Fatty acid-binding proteins belong to a superfamily of lipid-binding proteins that exhibit a high affinity for long-chain fatty acids and appear to function in metabolism and intracellular transportation of lipids. The current study was designed to investigate expression characterization and association with growth and composition traits of the liver fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) gene in the chicken. Northern blot analysis indicated that the gene, similar to the mammal L-FABP gene, was expressed only in liver and intestinal tissues. The mRNA levels of the chicken L-FABP gene in liver and intestine had significant differences between the broilers and Baier layers. The China Agricultural University F(2) population was used in the present study. Body weight and body composition traits were measured in the populations. Primers for the coding region and 5' upstream region of the L-FABP gene were designed according to chicken genomic and cDNA sequence. Polymorphisms were detected by DNA sequencing, and the PCR single-strand conformation polymorphisms method was developed to genotype the F(2) population. The results indicated that the L-FABP gene polymorphisms were associated with abdominal fat weight and percentage of abdominal fat, and the L-FABP gene could be a candidate locus or linked to a major gene(s) that affects fatness traits in the chicken. The results of the current study provided basic molecular information for studying the role of the L-FABP gene in the regulation of lipid metabolism in avian species.