BackgroundPrimaquine is one of two medications able to effectively eliminate the hypnozoites of P. vivax, and therefore has been recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) as the anti-relapsing drug for vivax malaria patients. However, the reduced CYP2D6 enzyme activity caused by gene mutations has been considered to result in the failure of primaquine relapse vivax malaria. Based on the analysis of CYP2D6 gene polymorphisms in vivax malaria cases the current study aims to determine the association between human CYP2D6 polymorphism and the relapse of vivax malaria. MethodsBlood samples of vivax malaria cases who received "chloroquine/primaquine eight-day therapy" from 2014 to 2018 in Yunnan Province were collected. The suspected relapsed cases were determined by epidemiology and gene sequence alignment. Human genomic DNA was extracted from the blood samples, nine exons of CYP2D6 gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR products were then sequenced. The coding DNA sequence (CDS) of CYP2D6 gene was obtained by splicing and aligning with the non-mutation reference sequence. The mutation loci, haplotypes (star alleles) and genotypes of CYP2D6 gene were inferred and their association with vivax malaria relapse were analyzed. ResultsA total of 120 blood samples from 45 suspected relapsed cases of vivax malaria and 75 non-relapsed cases were collected and two nested-PCR products (2411bp and 2388bp) containing exon1-4 and exon5-9, were obtained from 119 samples. 119 CDS chains (1491bp length) were formed by splicing and combining sequencing sequences, A total of 12 mutation loci were identified in 238 CDS chains (including 119 chains from direct sequencing and another 119 chains identified from sister chromosome). Among them, the mutation locus at c.886 has the closest relationship with the relapse of vivax malaria (OR=2.167, 95%CI: 1.104~4.252, P<0.05). There were 23 haplotypes (Hap_1~Hap_23) to be identified and be defined as 23 alleles of CYP2D6 gene, Among them, the 5 star alleles (*1, *2, *4, *10 and *39) were confirmed by comparison, and the CYP2D6*10 allele accounted for the most (45.4%, 108/238). the frequency of CYP2D6*2 allele in the SR group was significantly higher than that in the NR group (P<0.05). However, among the defined 24 genotypes, there were 8 genotypes (*4/*4, *4/*o, *2/*39, *39/*m, *39/*x, *1/*r, *1/*n, and *v/*10) appeared only in the SR group.ConclusionAmong the numerous mutations of CYP2D6 gene,CYP2D6*10 allele accounts for the highest proportion of vivax malaria cases in Yunnan Province. The mutation at c. 886 locus is most closely related to the relapse of vivax malaria. In addition, there was the genotype *4/*4 with null CYP2D6 enzyme function. These results suggest that Yunnan Province should pay attention to the risk of reduced CYP2D6 enzyme activity on the radical cure therapeutic effect of primaquine