Distribution of resources and ecological environment for Idesia polycarpa were revealed via visiting and investigation in field, and the plus trees were selected through the economic characters such as yield and oil contents from the wild populations in eight provinces. The results were as follows: Idesia polycarpa Maxim. is mainly distributed in Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces, while Idesia polycarpa Van Vestita Diels is mainly distributed in Hubei, Hunan, Shanxi and Sichuan provinces, especially densely distributed in Sichuan province. The characters of high adaptability, low requirement to the climate, and the suitability to grow in the acidic soil, especially in fertile soil for Idesia polycarpa were revealed after the investigation of climate and soil conditions. Forty-three plus trees were preliminarily chosen from 234 seedling trees based on the criteria of superior selection for Idesia polycarpa as energy oil plants. Forty-three plus trees were divided into three major categories of the highest, higher and middle yield according to the principal component and cluster analysis, and yield per plant, yield per unit area and oil contents of forty-three individuals were higher than those of group average by more than 20%. The studies lay an improtant foundation for collection and evaluation of germplasm resources, breeding of cultivated varieties of Idesia polycarpa.