HIV-1 infection has rapidly spread worldwide and has become the leading cause of mortality in infectious diseases. The duration for development of AIDS (AIDS progression) is highly variable among HIV-1 infected individuals, ranging from 2-3 years to no signs of AIDS development in the entire lifetime. Several factors regulate the rate at which HIV-1 infection progresses to AIDS. Host genetic factors play an important role in the outcome of such complex or multifactor diseases as AIDS and are also known to regulate the rate of disease progression. This review focuses on the major host genes reported to affect the progression to AIDS in HIV-1 infected individuals.