Purpose : High interleukin-1 beta(IL-$1{eta}$) expression in the skin biopsy specimens of patients with Henoch-$Schddot{o}nlein$ Purpura(HSP) has been observed. We examined IL-$1{eta}$ gene polymorphism in patients with HSP. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between IL-$1{eta}$ gene polymorphism and renal involvement in HSP. Methods : Patients from mideast Korea with HSP were studied. All patients had at least 6 months of follow up. Patients and ethnically matched controls were genotyped for IL-$1{eta}$ gene polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP). Results : Thirty-four patients(all younger than 15 years old) who had been diagnosed with HSP and 27 controls were examined. No allele or genotype differences between the HSP and control groups were observed. No significant association between the carriage of IL-$1{eta}$(-511) T allele and renal involvement(P=0.525, OR:1.417, CI:0.545-3.686) was found. Conclusion : In unselected patients with HSP, carriage of IL-$1{eta}$(-511) T allele does not appear to influence renal involvement.