Numerous studies have evaluated the association between the X-ray repair complementing defective repair in Chinese hamster cells 3 (XRCC3) T241M polymorphism and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. However, the results of such investigations have proved inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of the association between this polymorphism and HCC risk in the Chinese population. Published literature from PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases was retrieved, and a total of 5 case-control studies consisting of 2967 patients and 3874 controls were included in this meta-analysis, which revealed a significant association between the XRCC3 T241M polymorphism and HCC risk (TT vs MM: OR = 6.54, 95%CI = 2.14-19.99; TT vs MT: OR = 4.72, 95%CI = 2.26-9.86; dominant model: OR = 0.38, 95%CI = 0.26-0.57; recessive model: OR = 1.27, 95%CI = 0.99-1.62). In a subgroup analysis by sample size (number of subjects > 1000), similar results were obtained. Thus, XRCC3 T241M polymorphism may constitute a risk factor for HCC in the Chinese population.