In the search for genetic factors influencing susceptibility to the development of alcoholism and alcoholic liver disease, 28 studies have been published analysing the distribution of human leucocyte antigens (HLA) in alcoholics compared to healthy controls. A number of HLA-phenotypes has been suspected of being associated with both alcoholism and alcoholic liver disease. In the present study a meta-analysis is carried out on the data from these studies, subdivided according to race and degree of liver injury. The conclusion is that none of the HLA-phenotypes so far investigated in Caucasians can be shown to be significantly more common in any of the studied patient categories than in controls, whereas the results of Japanese studies are less clear. The limitations of the data material and the design of the studies are discussed, as well as the strength and limitations of the method of meta-analysis.