Genetic factor have previously been shown to play an important role in sports injuries and recovery. GDF5 Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism rs143383 has been recently reported to be associated with fracture susceptibility. Furthermore, the effect of GDF5 during the recovery processes of trauma is increased. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate whether this SNP was associated with susceptibility to the meniscus injury and postoperative recovery in Chinese male soldiers. GDF5 SNP was genotyped in 135 male soldiers with meniscus injury and 400 healthy male controls. Moreover, the function recovery of the soldiers suffering from the meniscal repair was also assessed. Our data showed that the GDF5 TT genotype (60.0 vs. 47.25 %; P = 0.010) and T allele (76.3 vs. 68.75 %; P = 0.019) were significantly over-represented in the meniscus injury group compared with the control group. We found that the TC (P < 0.05), CC (P < 0.05) and C carriers (P < 0.05) genotype exhibited significantly higher Lysholm Scores than the TT genotype at 1 month postoperative. In addition, the CC (P < 0.05) genotype also demonstrated significantly higher Lysholm Scores than the TT genotype 2 months postoperative. Taken together, our results revealed that the GDF5 SNP was associated with susceptibility to the meniscus injury and postoperative function recovery in Chinese male soldiers.