Tumor necrosis factor superfamily member 4 (TNFSF4) plays a key role in the process of atherosclerosis, a common risk factor for both myocardial and cerebral infarctions. Recent studies indicate that the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3850641 in TNFSF4 is associated with higher risk of myocardial infarction, but little is known about the association between TNFSF4 variation and cerebral infarction (CI). A case-control study involving 385 CI patients and 385 age-matched, sex-matched non-CI controls was conducted in a Chinese population, only the most common subtype, atherosclerosis CI, was recruited. Two SNPs of TNFSF4, rs3850641 and rs3861950, were genotyped by the TaqMan SNP genotyping method, and verified partly by genomic DNA sequencing. The results revealed a significant allelic association between rs3861950 and CI (Odds ration = 1.733, 95 % confidence interval = 1.333–2.254, P = 0.000). Genotypic association analysis demonstrated that the CC genotype of rs3861950 confers susceptibility to CI (Odds ration = 2.896, 95 % confidence interval = 1.368–6.132), and it was associated with a significantly higher risk of ischemic stroke (Odds ration = 3.520, 95 % confidence interval = 1.546–8.015, P = 0.003) after adjusting for the other confirmed risk factors such as the history of hypertension, diabetes, CAD, smoking and alcohol drinking. While the odds ratio of the T allele to the C allele was 1.733 (95 % confidence interval: 1.333–2.254). However, there was no significant association between rs3850641 and CI (Odds ration = 1.288, 95 % confidence interval = 0.993–1.670, P = 0.056). TNFSF4 gene polymorphism rs3861950, but not rs3850641, is associated with the risk of atherosclerosis CI in a Chinese population.