ObjectiveTo investigate the hypothesis that preeclampsia is associated with a common insertion–deletion polymorphism in the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene.DesignSeventy-two women with pre-eclampsia and 83 normotensive pregnant women participated in the study. Pre-eclampsia was defined as a blood pressure exceeding 140/90 mmHg in a previously normotensive woman, associated with proteinuria in excess of 300 mg/l in a 24 h collection. Samples for fetal genotyping were available from 66 pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia and 79 normotensive pregnancies.MethodsMaternal and fetal samples were genotyped at the insertion–deletion (I–D) polymorphism in intron 16 of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene by the polymerase chain reaction followed by agarose electrophoresis.ResultsNeither the I–D genotype distributions nor the allele frequencies differed significantly between preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies in maternal or fetal samples (χ2< 0.3, not significant). The odds ratio for pre-eclampsia in women with the DD genotype, compared with the ID and II genotype, was 1.09 (95% confidence interval 0.55–2.16). The odds ratio associated with the DD genotype in the fetus was 1.14 (0.56–2.32).ConclusionThis study has found no evidence that the insertion–deletion polymorphism in the angiotensinconverting enzyme gene is associated with pre-eclampsia.