BACKGROUND: Although recent animal experiments have revealed that tea intake improves elevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels, a causal link between the consumption of different types of tea and SUA levels remains undetermined. METHODS: Bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis based on genome-wide association studies was used to assess the causal relationship between consumption of different types of tea and the risk of elevated SUA levels in European and Asian populations. RESULTS: Forward MR analysis showed that tea intake was significantly associated with lower SUA levels (p = 0.0013). The estimated effect value ( CONCLUSION: Although this bidirectional MR study provided evidence of a causal relationship between tea intake and SUA levels, however, due to limitations associated with the sample size and strength of instrumental variables, a definite conclusion was not possible.