Background The rice gall midge (RGM), Orseolia oryzae (Wood-Mason), is one of the most destructive insect pests of rice, and it causes significant yield losses annually in Asian countries. The development of resistant rice varieties is considered as the most effective and economical approach for maintaining yield stability by controlling RGM. Identification of resistance genes will help in marker-assisted selection (MAS) to pyramid the resistance genes and develop a durable resistance variety against RGM in areas with frequent outbreaks.Results A mitochondrial gene, cytochrome C oxidase I (COI), was used to analyze the genetic diversity among Thai RGM populations. The phylogenetic tree indicated that the Thai RGM populations were homogeneously distributed throughout the country, except for some populations in central and northeast Thailand that probably became isolated from the main population. The reactions of the resistant rice varieties carrying different resistance genes revealed different RGM biotypes in Thailand. The Thai rice landrace MN62M showed resistance to all RGM populations used in this study. We identified a novel genetic locus for resistance to RGM, designated as GM12 , on the short arm of rice chromosome 2. The locus was identified using linkage analysis in 144 F 2 plants derived from a cross between susceptible cultivar KDML105 and RGM-resistant cultivar MN62M with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and F 2:3 phenotype. The locus was confirmed and mapped using SNP and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers surrounding the target chromosomal location. Finally, the locus was mapped between two flanking markers, RM6800 and S2_419160.Conclusions We identified a new RGM resistance gene, GM12 , on rice chromosome 2 in the Thai rice landrace MN62M. This finding yielded SNP and SSR markers that can be used in MAS to develop cultivars with broad-spectrum resistance to RGM. The new resistance gene provides important information for the identification of RGM biotypes in Thailand and Southeast Asia.