Current literature indicates that elevated IL‐6 serum levels are associated with diseases, disability and mortality in the elderly. In this paper, we studied the IL‐6 promoter genetic variability at –174 C/G locus and its effect on IL‐6 serum levels in a total of 700 people from 60 to 110 years of age, including 323 centenarians. We found that the proportion of homozygotes for the G allele at –174 locus decreases in centenarian males, but not in centenarian females. Moreover, we found that, only among males, homozygotes for the G allele at –174 locus have higher IL‐6 serum levels in comparison with carriers of the C allele. On the whole, our data suggest that those individuals who are genetically predisposed to produce high levels of IL‐6 during aging, i.e. –174 locus GG homozygous men, are disadvantaged for longevity.