Background To assess the relationship between peripheral anterior chamber depth and anthropomorphic measurements. Methods The Beijing Eye Study 2006 included 3251 (73.2%) subjects who returned for a follow-up examination after a baseline examination including 4335 subjects in 2001. The peripheral anterior chamber depth was estimated by slit lamp-assisted biomicroscopy using van Herick's method. Measurements of the body height and weight and assessment of the anterior chamber as inclusion criterion for this study were available for 3191 (98.2%) subjects. Results In a multivariate analysis, a shallow peripheral anterior chamber was significantly associated with higher age (P < 0.001), female gender (P < 0.001), and shorter height (P < 0.001), whereas weight (P = 0.97) and body mass index (P = 0.82) were not significantly associated. Conclusions The peripheral anterior chamber depth was inversely correlated with height, ie, a shallow peripheral anterior chamber may be expected with a higher frequency in short subjects than in tall subjects. Height, in addition to higher age and female gender, may be taken as one of the parameters for screening of subjects being at risk for primary angle-closure glaucoma.