There is a significant genetic component associated with the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness among older people in Western countries. Based on the recognized role of CX3CR1, a chemokine receptor, in other age-related complex diseases and the possible involvement of the immune system in AMD pathogenesis, we tested for an association between CX3CR1 sequence variation/expression and AMD by screening two CX3CR1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), V249I and T280M, among AMD patients and controls, and determining the level of CX3CR1 expression in AMD and normal eye tissues.