Metallopeptidase 13 (MMP13), a well-known and highly regulated zinc-dependent MMP collagenase, plays a crucial part in development and progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Therefore, we examined associations between ESCC susceptibility and four haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (htSNPs) using a two stage case-control strategy. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were computed by logistic regression model. After analyzing 1588 ESCC patients and frequency-matched 1600 unaffected controls, we found that MMP13 rs2252070 G > A genetic polymorphism is significantly associated with ESCC risk in Chinese Han populations (GA: OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.54-0.74, P = 1.7 × 10(-6), AA: OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.66-0.81, P = 1.8 × 10(-6)). Interestingly, the rs2252070 G-to-A change was shown to diminish a Sp1-binding site in ESCC cells. Reporter gene assays indicated that the rs2252070 A allele locating in a potential MMP13 promoter has low promoter activities. After measuring MMP13 gene expression in sixty-six pairs of esophageal cancer and normal tissues, we observed that the rs2252070 A protective allele carriers showed decreased oncogene MMP13 expression. Results of these analyses underline the support of the notion that MMP13 might function as a key oncogene in esophageal carcinogenesis.