PPARD encodes peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta, which has been shown to play an important role in controlling lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. In this case-control study, we explored the relationship between PPARD rs2016520 polymorphism and coronary heart disease (CHD) in a Han Chinese population. A total of 657 CHD cases and 640 controls were included in the association study. rs2016520 polymorphism genotyping was performed using the melting temperature-shift polymerase chain reaction method. The PPARD rs2016520-G allele reduced CHD risk by 17.9% (chi(2) = 5.061, P = 0.025, OR = 0.821, 95% CI = 0.692-0.975). Furthermore, a significant difference in CHD risk was observed for the PPARD rs2016520 polymorphism in the dominant model (AG + GG vs AA: chi(2) = 4.751, degrees of freedom (df) = 1, P = 0.029, OR = 0.784, 95% CI = 0.6310.976). Analysis by age suggested that the G-allele decreased CHD risk by 14.8% in ages greater than 65 years (chi(2) = 4.446, P = 0.035, OR = 0.852, 95%CI = 0.684-1.060). In contrast, meta-analysis of PPARD rs2016520 among 3732 cases and 5042 controls revealed no association between PPARD rs2016520 and CHD (P = 0.19). We found that the PPARD rs2016520-GG genotype decreased CHD risk in a Han Chinese population. Moreover, we found an association between serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level and PPARD rs2016520 in senior individuals aged = 65 years. The meta-analysis revealed no association between PPARD rs2016520 and CHD, suggesting ethnic differences in the association between the PPARD locus and CHD.