[Objective] The aim was to explore the phylogenetic relationships of Cara- gana （Fabaceae） by the use of nrlTS sequences. [Method] Internal transcribed spac- er （ITS） sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA （nrDNA） from 29 taxa of Caragana species and seven close relatives （all belong to Astralinae （Adens） Benth） were used for phylogenetic analysis. [Result] Length of the entire ITS region ranges from 611 to 614 bp in Caragana species. The aligned sequences nrlTS of Caragana are 655 bp, and 170 sites are variable, with 107 phylogenetically informative sites. The phylogenetically informative sites are 16.3% of the total aligned sequences. The ITS sequences data are useful to resolve some relationships at lower taxonomic levels within Caragana. The Caragana Fabr. is not a monophyletic group with very close connection with Calophaca tianschanica. The ITS data revealed that the species of Sect. tragacanthoides were dispersed in MP tree or ME tree. Although the morphol- ogy of C. ordosica is similar to C. tibetica, the ITS results revealed an unexpectedly close relativeship to C. roborovskyi. The ITS data also indicate C. davazamcii, C. korshinskii, C. intermedia, and C. microphylla are different species. [Conclusion] ITS sequences have an important reference value in exploring the relationships of Cara- gana.
