The findings of associations between interleukin-8 (IL-8) polymorphisms and risk of oral cancer are controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis on the basis of data from all published studies to provide evidence of the current understanding of the genetic association with oral cancer. Eligible studies were identified by means of an electronic search of PubMed, Elsevier, ScienceDirect, EMBASE, EBSCO, and CBM databases for studies published up to March 2013. In accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of six eligible studies were included in the pooled analyses. In the overall analysis, we did not observe any significant associations between the IL-8-251A>T polymorphism and oral cancer risk under any of the genetic models (all P > 0.05). In the stratified analysis by ethnicity, Caucasian individuals with genotype AA had a higher risk of oral cancer under the dominant model (OR = 1.35, 95 % CI 1.09-1.67, P = 0.006). This meta-analysis indicated that the IL-8-251A>T polymorphism was not associated with the susceptibility of oral cancer, while individuals in the Caucasian population with genotype AA had a higher risk of oral cancer under the dominant model.