The progression of hepatic disease in chronic viral hepatitis is accompanied by an increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as an accumulation of oxidative DNA damage, which is primarily repaired through base excision repair. XRCC1 (X-ray repair cross complementing protein 1) is one of the most important proteins involved in this repair pathway. The present study was carried out to verify the possible association of the XRCC1 rs25487 polymorphism with cirrhosis in patients from Central-West Brazil.A total of 227 individuals with viral hepatitis, 53 cirrhotic and 174 non-cirrhotic, were genotyped for the XRCC1 rs25487 polymorphism using PCR-RFLP.There were significantly higher frequencies of both the Arg/Gln genotype and of individuals with at least one Gln allele (Arg/ Gln+Gln/Gln) among cirrhotic patients (56.6% and 69.8%) compared with non-cirrhotic patients (25.8% and 37.9%). Both conditions were significantly associated with cirrhosis, independent of age, sex, alcohol intake or tobacco use (adjusted OR = 3.5, CI = 1.7-7.4, p = 0.001 and adjusted OR = 3.1, CI = 1.5-6.3, p = 0.002, respectively). Similar results were obtained for a group of HCV-infected patients but not for HBV-infected patients.The XRCC1 rs25487 polymorphism may influence the development of cirrhosis in viral hepatitis patients, and additional investigation will be necessary.