AbstractCytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) is an important member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily of enzymes because of its involvement in the metabolism of some carcinogens and therapeutically important drugs. As a result, factors affecting the activity of the enzyme are the focus of considerable research effort as they may have important pharmacological or toxicological implications. CYP1A2 has been shown to exhibit a genetic polymorphism with most of the data, however, coming from studies in Caucasian and Oriental populations. In this study therefore, we investigated the frequencies of two point mutations, –163C > A and 63C > G, in two Bantu African populations. A total of 214 healthy subjects were recruited from Zimbabwe (n = 143) and Tanzania (n = 71). The two single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The frequency of –163A was 57% (95% confidence interval (CI), 54%, 60%) and 49% (95% CI, 45%, 53%) among Zimbabweans and Tanzanians, respectively, but the difference between the two populations was not statistically significant (p = 0.123). The base change 63C > G was not found in any of the subjects from the two populations. We report here a high frequency of –163C > A base change and an absence of the 63C > G change in the two African populations.