The application of genetic analyses in the molecular diagnosis of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has experienced an enormous increase in recent years. Despite significant growth in experimental data there is no direct benefit for the individual patient as yet. The search for validated genetic diagnostic markers is currently being continued by genome-wide association studies. Hopefully, by combining multiple genetic markers a genetic profile can be generated which will enable prediction of the risk for RA, the disease course and response to certain therapies.