Abstract:Red bayberry (Myrica rubra) possesses great economic importance in eastern and southern China; however, it is affected by many diseases. A survey of leaf diseases on M. rubra cv. Biqi was conducted at Cixi, Zhejiang Province, China. Typical symptoms observed were red to red-brown necrotic lesions on the leaf tips or margins. Four Pestalotiopsis isolates from leaf lesions and three Pestalotiopsis isolates from healthy barks were collected. These isolates were identified as P. sydowiana, P. microspora, and P. disseminata on the basis of morphological characteristics. The identification was verified by internal transcribed spacer analysis of rRNA. Isolates of P. sydowiana and P. disseminata induced leaf necrosis as observed in the field while isolates of P. microspora were not pathogenic to red bayberry cv. Biqi. These pathogens were reisolated consis-tently from inoculated plants, confirming Koch’s postulates. This is the first report of traditional and molecular methods of identification and characterization being used for Pestalotiopsis spp. on red bayberry in China.