Abstract Backgrounds Stroke is a sudden disorder of cerebral blood circulation. Many studies have illustrated that dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, smoking and excessive drinking are the traditional risk factors for stroke. This study aimed to observe the relationship between CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 variants and stroke risk in the Chinese population. Methods Agena MassARRAY Assay was used to genotype four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 477 cases and 480 controls. The chi-square test and logistic-regression analysis were used to explore the relationship between CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 variants and stroke risk. Results Individuals with CYP1A2 rs762551 C was associated with a lower risk of stroke than that of allele A. Age stratification analysis showed that rs762551 was only observed to be associated with a lower risk of stroke in ≤64ys age group. After gender stratification analysis, a significant association between rs762551 and stroke risk was found in males, but not in females. The four SNPs were found to be correlated with stroke risk in patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease, cerebral infarction and lacunar infarction. Conclusion In this study, the results first showed that CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 variants were associated with stroke risk. Larger and well-designed studies are needed to confirm the results.