To assess genetic diversity of germplasm resource is very important for breeding of new varieties. We assessed 16 traits of 66 native safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L) varieties by both the cluster analysis and the principal components analysis. The resul- ts: there are abound genetic diversity in native safflower varieties from Yunnan. The diversity index of the number of seed per fruit is highest, then plant height, the height of top branch, and 1000 seeds weight. The coefficient variation (CV) of the height of first branch is third highest, after the branches number and the fruits number per plant, while the diameter of top fruit is lowest. By data obtained, 66 native varieties can be divided into 6 groups. The first group can be parents of progenies with high yield potential, the third one can be the parents of progenies with high yield, the fourth group can be parents of progenies with big seeds, the fifth group can be parents of progenies with high oil content, the sixth can be parents of progenies with both high oil content and high yield. The principal comp- onents analysis of 11 traits showed the top four traits principal components account for 82.59% of all principal components, the first one is plant height the second is seed yield components, the third is 1000 seeds weight ,the fourth is the number of seed per fruit. The germplasme resources from Yunnan,China is useful for breeding of new varieties with abound diversity.