Abstract: The genus Leymus Hochst. from China is taxonomically revised on the basis of herbarium materials and field observation in this paper. As a result, a total of 3 sections, 33 species and 7 varieties of the genus is recognized in China. Among these taxa, the sect. Racemosus L. Zhi contains 4 species, the sect. Leymus comprises 24 species and 7 varieties, the sect. Anisopyrum (Griseb.) Tzvel. consists of 5 species, the 3 species described as new and the 4 taxa treated as new (i.e. 3 new combinations and a new name) wholly belong to the sect. Leymus. Furthermore, the past studying records, morphological characters and geographic distributions of some taxa of Leymus are briefly introduced as well.

Key words: Leymus Hochst., taxonomic note, China