We investigated the association between polymorphisms in interleukin-10 (IL-10) -1082G/A (rs1800896), -819T/C (rs1800871), and -592A/C (rs1800872) and the risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in a Chinese population. A total of 167 primary AML cases and 328 healthy control subjects were recruited at the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province between March 2009 and January 2012. The polymorphisms rs1800896, rs1800871, and rs1800872 were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Multivariate regression analyses showed that subjects carrying the rs1800871 CC genotype and C allele had a significantly increased risk of AML, with adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of 1.72 (1.01-2.97) and 1.38 (1.04-1.81), respectively. Those carrying the rs1800872 G allele had a slightly increased risk of AML, with an adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 1.30 (1.01-1.72). Moreover, genotyping results demonstrated that subjects carrying both the rs1800871 C allele and rs1800872 G allele had a moderately increased risk of AML, indicating that the 2 genotypes had a synergistic effect on AML risk (odds ratio = 2.03, 95% confidence interval = 1.24-3.15). Our results demonstrated that polymorphisms in rs1800871 and rs1800872 enhance the risk of AML, and these 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms have a synergistic effect on AML risk.