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Presently, the heterophil-to-lymphocyte (H/L) ratio is being studied extensively as a disease resistance trait. Through intricate mechanisms to identify and destroy pathogenic microorganisms, heterophils play a pivotal role in the immune defense systems of avian species. To reveal the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms affecting the H/L ratio, phenotypic and H/L data from 1650 white feather chicken broilers were used in performing a genome-wide association study. A self-developed, chicken-specific 55K chip was used for heterophils, lymphocytes, and H/L classification, according to individual genomic DNA profiles. We identified five significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) when the genome-wide significance threshold was set to 5% (<i>p</i> &lt; 2.42 &#215; 10^&#8722;6). A total of 15 SNPs obtained seemingly significant levels (<i>p</i> &lt; 4.84 &#215; 10^&#8722;5). Gene annotation indicated that <i>CARD11</i> (Caspase recruitment domain family member 11), <i>BRIX1</i> (Biogenesis of ribosomes BRX1), and <i>BANP</i> (BTG3 associated nuclear protein) play a role in H/L-associated cell regulation and potentially constitute candidate gene regions for cellular functions dependent on H/L ratios. These results lay the foundation for revealing the genetic basis of disease resistance and future marker-assisted selection for disease resistance.