The genetic diversity analysis and comprehensive evaluation of 686 safflower germplasm accessions were conducted via investigating the phenotypic variations， followed by the coefficient of variation， correlation analysis， principal component analysis， and cluster analysis， aiming to provide a foundation for safflower breeding in Xinjiang， P.R. China. The coefficient of variation of 11 agronomic characters ranged from 12.72% to 44.80%， indicating rich variations at these traits in the collection. The genetic diversity index of the three quality traits ranged from 0.75 to 1.04. Correlation analysis showed that yield per plant was significantly positively correlated with plant height， number of primary branches， number of secondary branches， individual bulb number， head ball diameter and total number of per fruit. When the genetic distance of 7.5 applied， the germplasm resources were clustered into four groups， in which the yield per plant and thousand grain weight of group IV were excellent. Principal component analysis showed that the cumulative contribution rate of the five principal component factors was 78.838%. Among them， leaf margin， leaf spines， individual bulb number， total number of per fruit， and thousand grain weight were the main factors contributing to the phenotypic differences of safflower. Three elite germplasm Hefeihonghua （220657）， 78-1 （220675） and Linquanhonghua （220683） were identified by comprehensive evaluation， among which Linquanhonghua （220683） showed a higher 1000-grain weight （53.42g）， serving as parental line in high-yield breeding. Collectively， this study showed rich genetic diversity of 686 safflower germplasm resources， which could provide basic materials in breeding for new safflower varieties.