Abstract. We investigate a connection between distance-regular graphs and U q (sl(2)), the quantum universal enveloping algebra of the Lie algebra sl(2). Let be a distance-regular graph with diameter d ≥ 3 and valency k ≥ 3, and assume is not isomorphic to the d-cube. Fix a vertex x of , and let T = T (x) denote the Terwilliger algebra of with respect to x. Fix any complex number q ∈ {0, 1, −1}. Then T is generated by certain matrices satisfying the defining relations of U q (sl(2)) if and only if is bipartite and 2-homogeneous.