In this study, we investigated the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of inflammatory chemokine genes, i.e. RANTES, IP-10 and monokine induced by gamma interferon gene (Mig) in two Chinese cohorts from Hong Kong and Beijing and found that the RANTES -28 G allele was associated with disease susceptibility and severity of SARS. Here, IFNG is linked to severe acute respiratory syndrome.