[Objective] The aim was to discuss the morphological differences of four carp populations.[Method] Based on traditional morphological data（including countable and measurable characters） and framework data,the morphological differences and phylogenesis of Yellow River carp population（YR）,wild four-naris carp population（WF）,farmed four-naris carp population（FF） and carp population from Suzhou section of Wusong River（WR） were studied by means of multivariate analysis.[Result] There was no significant difference（P〉0.05） in countable characters among four carp populations.Discriminant analysis showed the discriminating accuracy of YR,WF,FF and WR population were 87.5%,78.1%,73.5% and 96.8% respectively,and the synthetic discriminating accuracy of four populations was up to 83.7%.In addition,cluster analysis revealed that YR population and WF population clustered together,while FF population and WR population clustered together.Principal component analysis indicated that the morphological differences among four populations mainly came from the head,tail and vertical axis of fish.[Conclusion] The study could provide theoretical foundations for the purification and rejuvenation of rare four-naris carp.
