Abstract: Objective To study the frequent somatic mutations of von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor gene(VHL)and the expression of multiple drug resistence(mdr)gene in human renal carcinomas. Methods :40 cases human renal carcinomas were analyzed for VHL gene using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and single strand conformational polymorphism analysis.35 cases renal cell carcinomas were examied the product of mdr gene by immunohistochemical assay. Results Somatic mutations were detected in 63 percent(19/30) glycogen-rich renal carcinomas including 13 deletion,3 insertion,2 missense and 1 nonsense mutation.The degree of mdr gene expression correlated with histopathlogic subtypes of renal carcinomas. Conclusion Glycogen-rich renal carcinomas might be distingushed from other types by molecular genetic techniques.