Abstract: Objective To investigate the association of HLA-DRB1*03, *04 and *11 alleles with alopecia areata （AA） in Han Nationality in East China. Methods Polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer （PCR-SSP） method was conducted in 158 Chinese Han patients with AA as well as in 172 healthy human controls in East China. The relationships of HLA-DRB1 polymorphism to age of onset, episode frequency, clinical course, family history, and severity of AA were evaluated. Results No significant differences were observed for the frequency of HLA DRB1*03, *11 alleles between the patients and human controls, while increased frequency of HLA-DRB1*04 was observed in patients （OR = 1.99, Pc = 0.01）. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that HLA-DRB1*04 was more prevalent in patients with an onset after 16 years of age （OR = 1.94, Pc = 0.02）, those without family history （OR = 1.97, Pc = 0.02）, those with recurrent AA （OR = 2.49, Pc = 0.02）, those with a clinical course of more than 1 year （OR = 2.94, Pc = 0.01）, those with severe AA （OR = 3.53, Pc = 0.00） and those with single episode of AA （OR = 1.83, Pc = 0.04） in comparison with the normal human controls. Conclusion This study demonstrates that HLA-DRB1 *04 allele is associated with the occurrence and clinical types of AA in Han Nationality in East China.