It has been shown that DNA repair is reduced in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and that the X-ray repair cross-complementing (XRCC1) Arg399Gln (rs25487) polymorphism may contribute to DNA repair. We evaluated the frequency of the XRCC1 Arg399Gln substitution in patients with SLE (n=265) and controls (n=360) in a sample of the Polish population. The odds ratio (OR) for SLE patients with the Gln/Gln versus Gln/Arg or Arg/Arg genotypes was 1.553 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.9573-2.520; p=0.0729). OR for the Gln/Gln or Gln/Arg versus Arg/Arg genotype was 1.551 (95% CI=1.122-2.144, p=0.0077). The OR for the 399 Gln allele in patients with SLE was 1.406 (95% CI=1.111-1.779, p=0.0045). There was also a statistically significant p-value of the χ(2) test for the trend observed in the XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism (ptrend=0.0048). We also found a significant contribution of the Gln/Gln or Arg/Gln versus Arg/Arg genotype to the presence of either the malar rash or photosensitivity manifestations of SLE OR=2.241 (1.328-3.781, p=0.0023, pcorr=0.0414). Moreover, the meta-analysis of Taiwanese Han Chinese, Brazilian, and Polish populations showed that the Gln/Gln or Gln/Arg genotype and Gln allele were associated with SLE incidence. OR for the Gln/Gln or Gln/Arg versus Arg/Arg genotype was 1.440 (95% CI=1.15-1.80, p=0.0019) and OR for the Gln allele was 1.27 (95% CI=1.08-1.51, p=0.0051). Our studies may confirm that the XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism may increase the risk of incidence of SLE and the occurrence of some SLE manifestations.