One of genetic factors associated with the development of alopecia areata (AA) is HLA locus. The study comprised 52 patients with AA, aged 10 to 64 years. The frequences of HLA-DR B alleles in patients and controls were compared. The control group comprised 152 healthy persons. Familiar occurrence of alopecia areata was seen in 7 cases (13.5%). Significantly lower frequency of HLA-DRB1*03 was observed in patients with AA in comparison to control group. In all patients with AA alleles HLA-DRB1*15/*16 occurred more frequently than in control group, but it was not significant after correction. In the group of patients with more severe form of alopecia areata (AAT/U) there was no significant difference in HLA- DR alleles distribution