Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent angiogenic mediator. The present study investigated the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of VEGF and susceptibility to lung cancer in a Han ethnic group of North China. The genotypes in the -2578C and 936C loci of VEGF gene were determined using PCR-RFLP method in 150 patients with lung cancers and 150 healthy individuals. Software PHASE 1.0 was used to analyze the experimental data. The non-conditional logistic regression model was used to analyze the statistical association of genotypes and susceptibility in the two groups adjusted by multiple factors. VEGF polymorphisms were found to be a critical risk for the genetic susceptibility to lung cancers in the ethnic Han group of North China. SNP polymorphisms at the -2578C and 936C loci of the VEGF gene were detected by the RFLP-PCR method. High rates of a single-base C-to-A alteration at the -2578 locus and high rates of a single-base C-to-T alteration at the 936 locus of both alleles were correlated with the occurrence of lung cancer. The SNP markers at the -2578C and 936C loci of the VEGF gene may serve as biological markers of lung cancer.