Abstract:The random amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD) technique was employed to analyze the genetic diversity of six populations(20 samples for each population) of Potentilla anserina L.from various altitudes and coverage.The RAPD analysis selected thirteen random primers for the amplification of 132 repetitive loci with 117 polymorphic loci.Genetic diversity at species level was relatively high and there was distinct genetic differentiation among the six populations.The ratio of polymorphic loci(88.64%),Nei’s gene diversity(0.3180),and Shannon’s information index(0.3997) at the species level were remarkably higher than other clonal plants.Inter-population variations were different and the distribution of polymorphic loci was not average among the six populations.The GST was 47.7%.The gene flow estimated by GST was only 0.5482,which indicated less gene exchange occurred among populations of P.anserina,with PPL ranging from 31.06% to 74.24%,I ranging from 0.1711 to 0.3625,and H ranging from 0.1164 to 0.2425.Correlation analysis showed the changes were positively related with coverage(r=0.8630) but not with altitude.We deduce that P.anserina may be inclined to clonal propagation in the habitat of abundant resources.