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The high mortality risk of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus may well be explained by the several comorbidities and/or complications. Also the intrinsic genetic component predisposing to diabetes might have a role in shaping the risk of diabetes-related mortality. Among type 2 diabetes mellitus SNPs, rs1801282 is of particular interest because (i) it is harbored by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ2 (PPARγ2), which is the target for thiazolidinediones which are used as antidiabetic drugs, decreasing all-cause mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus, and (ii) it is associated with insulin resistance and related traits, risk factors for overall mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus. We investigated the role of PPARγ2 P12A, according to a dominant model (PA + AA vs. PP individuals) on incident all-cause mortality in three cohorts of type 2 diabetes mellitus, comprising a total of 1672 patients (462 deaths) and then performed a meta-analysis of ours and all available published data. In the three cohorts pooled and analyzed together, no association between PPARγ2 P12A and all-cause mortality was observed (HR 1.02, 95 % CI 0.79-1.33). Similar results were observed after adjusting for age, sex, smoking habits, and BMI (HR 1.09, 95 % CI 0.83-1.43). In a meta-analysis of ours and all studies previously published (n = 3241 individuals; 666 events), no association was observed between PPARγ2 P12A and all-cause mortality (HR 1.07, 95 % CI 0.85-1.33). Results from our individual samples as well as from our meta-analysis suggest that the PPARγ2 P12A does not significantly affect all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.