Abstract: Objective　To investigate the azoospermia factor（AZF） gene microdeletion and its characteristic in idiopathic infertile males from Shanghai.  Methods　Polymerase chain reaction and agarose electrophoresis were used to detect microdeletion in AZFa，AZFb and AZFc in 38 patients with idiopathic azoospermia， 231 patients with oligozoospermia and 10 healthy controls.  Results　AZF gene STS point microdeletion was found in 18 of 269 infertile patients. There were 14 cases in AZFc，2 cases in AZFb+c， 1 case in AZFa+b+c and 1 case in AZFa. The total prevalence rate of microdeletion was 6.7% .  Conclusions　AZFc is a major gene for AZF gene screening in idiopathic infertile patients.Screening of AZF gene microdeletion for idiopathic infertile patients is essential.

Key words: Idiopathic male infertility, Azoospermia, Oligozoospermia, Azoospermia factor gene microdeletion, Assisted reproductive technology