The pregnane X receptor (PXR) is the main transcriptional regulator of many enzymes that metabolize xenobiotics such as P450s and drug transporters. Polymorphisms in the PXR gene contribute to population variability in CYP3A4 and P-glycoprotein levels. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been reported in Caucasian, African-American and Japanese populations. In the present study, we identified the known SNP, V140M and a novel SNP, Q158K, in Chinese subjects. We developed an allele-specific polymerase chain reaction method to detect the novel allele and found its frequency in 451 Chinese subjects to be 2.2%. CYP3A4-luciferase reporter assays revealed that the Q158K variant gave rise to much lower levels of CYP3A4 promoter activity in LS174T and HepG2 cells exposed to the PXR ligands, rifampin and paclitaxel, than did wild-type PXR. The SNP had less effect on promoter activity in response to clotrimazole or nifedipine.