Abstract: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms in three species of pheasants,I.e.,common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus),golden pheasant (Chrysolopus pictus),and Chinese pheasant (C.amherstiae),were analyzed to study phylogenetic relationships,when 10 restriction enzymes of 6-bp recognition were used,20-29 sites were observed in the samples.The estimated number of nucleotide substitutions per site (p) between genera Phasianus and Chrysolopus is 0.076 (rangs from 0.067-0.085),and between golden and Chinese pheasants is 0.012.Divergence times between the two genera,and between the two species of genus Chrysolopus were estimated to be 3.8×106 and 6×105 years on the mean rate of sequences divergence of 0.02 per million years in mtDNA,respectively.These findings suggest:1.Phasianus and Chrysolopus are two closely related genera in the phylogeny of pheasants.2.There is possible that golden and Chinese pheasants are two subspecies,not two species.