Abstract:Sterculiaceous plants in the world are estimated to be 1 546 species in 60 genera, which distribute mainly in the tropics and subtropics with a few in temperate regions. Sterculiaceae is a large and multiform family, and the attribution of some genera has still no identical views. Based on J. Hutchinson‘s system and some references, an adjustment of the position of some genera in the family has been made, and 12 tribes in the family are classified. The distribution of Sterculiaceae plants in the world is included in 6 kingdoms with 23 regions，based on Takhtajan’s floristic regions．In this paper 99 species with 7 varieties in 25 genera of Stercul iaceae in China， including 85 wild species with 7 varieties in 18 genera and 14 cultivated species in 8 genera are considered． Main characters of the l2 tribes and the distribution of genera are described．The authers suggest that Stercnllaceae originated before
Cretaceus period，i.e．before the separation of Gondwana， because fossil plants had been found in Africa ，Europe ，Asia and America．According to the modern distribution pattern of Stercnliaceae，many genera till now distribute in Madagascar and tropical Africa which are endemic，and the mole primitive tribe ，Dembeyeae，mainly distributes here．It is suggested that Madagascar and tropical Africa might be the origin of Sterculiaceae from where expanded to Eurasia，Australia and America． A distribution map of Sterculiaceae in the world is given The genera with the number of species grown in 23 provinces and regions of China are tabulated．