To study and make full use of Rhizobium diversity in east-area of China, the full length 16S rDNA sequences of 23 Rhizobium strains isolated from leguminosae woody plants in east China area were tested. At the same time, those of selected strains downloaded from GenBank were compared. The phylogenetic tree was therefore constructed. The analysis result was consistent with those from morphology. The taxonomic position of 23 Rhizobium strains was determined.