ObjectiveTo assesse the association of an insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene (ACE) with the risk and the mortality of acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). MethodsWe searched electronic databases through April 2014 for the terms "angiotensin-converting enzyme gene", "acute lung injury" and "acute respiratory distress syndrome", and reviewed all studies that reported the relationship of the I/D polymorphism in ACE with ALI/ARDS in adults. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising 498 ALI/ARDS patients, 3220 healthy controls and 1137 patients without ALI/ARDS. Three genetic models were used: the allele, dominant and recessive models. The meta-analysis was performed with RevMan 5.2 software. ResultsThe ACE I/D polymorphism was not associated with susceptibility to ALI/ARDS compared with the healthy controls and the patient controls for any genetic model. The ACE I/D polymorphism was associated with the mortality risk of ALI/ARDS in Asian subjects, and OR was 2.99 (95% CI 1.87-4.76, P < 0.05), 0.36 (95% CI 0.20-0.67, P < 0.05), 4.62 (95% CI 1.71-12.45, P < 0.05) for allele I/D, genotype II/II+ID and genotype DD/II+ID, respectively. ConclusionThere is a possible association between the ACE I/D polymorphism genotype and the mortality risk of ALI/ARDS in Asians.