The amplifiable VNTR polymorphic system COL2A1 has been investigated in Chinese and German population samples. In order to accurately identify COL2A1 alleles, a number of human allele ladders were prepared. A total of 14 different alleles in 23 genotypes was observed in the Chinese population, while in the German population there were 11 alleles in 24 genotypes. Four new alleles were observed. All of them were found in the Chinese and one was also observed in the German population. There was no statistical difference in the allele distribution between two German populations from Münster and Köln, while the allele frequency distribution in the Chinese population differed significantly from the German.