A case–control association study for advanced age-related macular degeneration was conducted to explore several regions of interest identified by linkage. This analysis identified a single nucleotide polymorphism just 3′ of complement factor I on chromosome 4 showing significant association (P< 10− 7). Sequencing was performed on coding exons in linkage disequilibrium with the detected association. No obvious functional variation was discovered that could be the proximate cause of the association, suggesting a noncoding regulatory mechanism.