Abstract: As a common and complex endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by chronic anovulation, hyperandrogenaemia and polycystic ovaries. The pathogenesis of PCOS is still unclear. The clinical characteristics of familial aggregation suggest its genetic background, which promoted much molecular epidemiological study on finding candidate genes. Although more and more genes have been found to be related with the etiology of PCOS, there is not a gene which is predicatively related to PCOS pathogenesis at present because of duple heterogeneities of genotype and phenotypy, as well as the lack of large sample research. The article discussed the research progresses on the genetic mechanism of PCOS from several closely related genes, such as those genes related to insulin, androgen, gonadotropin, other ovary functions and adipose tissue.

Key words: Polycystic ovary syndrome, Genetics, Genes