OBJECTIVE To assess the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of susceptibility genes of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with liability to gout among ethnic Han Chinese males from coastal region of Shandong province. METHODS Seven SNPs within the susceptibility genes of T2DM, including rs10773971(G/C) and rs4766398(G/C) of WNT5B gene, rs10225163(G/C) of JAZF1 gene, rs2069590(T/A) of BDKRB2 gene, rs5745709(G/A) of HGF gene, rs1991914(C/A) of OTOP1 gene and rs2236479(G/A) of COL18A1 gene, were typed with a custom-made Illumina GoldenGate Genotyping assay in 480 male patients with gout and 480 male controls. Potential association was assessed with the chi-square test. RESULTS No significant difference was detected for the 7 selected SNPs in terms of genotypic and allelic frequencies (P > 0.05). When age and body mass index (BMI) were adjusted, the 7 genetic variants still showed no significant association with gout. CONCLUSION The genotypes of the 7 selected SNPs are not associated with gout in ethnic Han Chinese male patients from the coastal region of Shandong province. However, the results need to be replicated in larger sets of patients collected from other regions and populations.