Aim To determine the distribution of apolipoprotein E genotype that can veritably reflect the actual apolipoprotein E genotypic frequency of Chinese population. Methods The blood samples were randomly collected from 121 newborn's umbilical cords. The apolipoprotein E genotypes were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) techniques. Results The allelic frequencies of apolipoprotein E are ε2 9.50%, ε3 85.13% and ε4 5.37% respectively. Conclusions Although there were some certain differences between the results and those of other research groups', the Apo E allelic frequencies were quite similar to that of the aged and the adults reported previously by the major laboratories in China. Based on the unremarkable difference of the allelic and genotypic frequencies of Apo E among different generations, although the Apo E allele may affect the lipid level and the morbidity of coronary heart disease, it has no obvious impact on the life expectancy.