Aims/hypothesis. Resistin is thought to be an important link between obesity and insulin resistance. It has been suggested that genetic polymorphism in the promoter of resistin gene is a determinant of resistin mRNA expression and possibly associated with obesity and insulin resistance. In this study, we investigated the association between the genotype of resistin promoter and its plasma concentrations. Methods. We examined g.-537A>C and g.-420C>G polymorphisms in the resistin promoter and measured plasma resistin concentrations in Korean subjects with or without Type 2 diabetes. We also did haplotypebased promoter activity assays and the gel electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Results. The −420G and the −537A alleles, which were in linkage disequilibrium, were associated with higher plasma resistin concentrations. Individuals with haplotype A-G (−537A and −420G) had significantly higher plasma resistin concentrations than the others. Haplotype A-G had modestly increased promoter activity compared to the other haplotypes. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that the −420G allele is specific for binding of nuclear proteins from adipocytes and monocytes. However, none of the two polymorphisms were associated with Type 2 diabetes or obesity in our study subjects. Conclusions/interpretation. Polymorphisms in the promoter of resistin gene are major determinants of plasma resistin concentrations in humans. [Diabetologia (2004) . Moreover, obese mice given an antiresistin antibody had increased insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, whereas the treatment of normal mice with recombinant resistin impaired insulin action [4]. Resistin therefore could link obesity with insulin resistance and diabetes in mouse models. However, subsequent studies in rodent models have produced disparate findings on the role of resistin in obesity and insulin resistance [5,6,7].In humans, the expression of resistin in adipocytes is much lower than that seen in rodents and does not differ between normal, insulin-resistant or Type 2 diabetic patients [8,9,10]. Little is known about the relationship between circulating resistin concentrations Resistin belongs to a novel family of cystein-rich C-terminal domain proteins called resistin-like molecules, which are identical to those found in inflammatory