Objectives: This study aimed to develop and validate a rapid, accurate method for aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 gene (ALDH2) genotyping. Design and methods: We reported a single-tube, real-time PCR method for ALDH2 allele detection using two displacing probes. Results: The genotyping results of 136 human genomic DNA samples indicated 100% concordance between real-time PCR method and the PCR-RFLP analysis. Conclusions: The developed method could be used for routine clinical testing and high throughput genetic screening of ALDH2. (C) 2007 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.