We investigate the role of ERCC5 gene polymorphisms (rs17655 and rs751402) in the development of gastric cancer in a Chinese population. A total of 142 gastric cancer patients whose diagnoses were confirmed by pathology, and 274 control subjects were recruited from Tangshan Gongren Hospital between March 2013 and March 2015. Genotyping of ERCC5 rs17655 and rs751402 polymorphisms was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Compared with the control subjects, we found that gastric cancer patients were more likely to be older, smoke tobacco, drink alcohol, and suffer from Helicobacter pylori infection. Using a chi-square test, a significant difference was observed in the distribution ofERCC5 rs751402 genotypes between patient and control groups (chi-square = 7.79, P = 0.02). In addition, unconditional multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the AA genotype of rs751402 significantly increased gastric cancer risk compared to the GG genotype [odds ratio (OR) = 2.61, 95%CI = 1.23-5.49; P = 0.005]. Moreover, we found that the AA genotype correlated with elevated risk of gastric cancer when compared to the GG+AG genotype under a recessive model (OR = 2.21, 95%CI = 1.11-4.39; P = 0.01). In conclusion, we suggest that the ERCC5 rs751402 polymorphism is associated with development of gastric cancer.