Previous studies have suggested that the null polymorphism of the glutathione S-transferases M1/T1 (GSTM1/T1) gene may be associated with the risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We further explored this potential association using a meta-analysis. A systematic literature search was carried out in the scientific literature databases and we used odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) to evaluate the strength of this association. All statistical analyses were calculated using Stata software 11.0, and Bonferroni correction was used to adjust the p values. Nine eligible articles with 1,850 patients and 2,826 controls were identified. Our results showed the null polymorphism of the GSTM1 gene was associated with SLE in East Asians (OR 1.32, 95 % CI 1.04-1.69, p = 0.024), but not in Europeans and Africans. However, when Bonferroni corrections were applied (p = 0.05/2 = 0.025), we could not be sure of this association. We further analysed the associations between the GSTT1 gene null polymorphism and the risk of SLE. The results of this investigation showed that this null polymorphism was not associated with susceptibility to SLE in all included populations. In conclusion, the null polymorphism of GSTM1/T1 gene may not be associated with the risk of SLE. More studies are needed to confirm this lack of association between key oxidative defense genes and susceptibility to SLE in the future.