Abstract: One hundred and thirteen SSR markers with polymorphism were used to study the genetic diversity of 26 popcorn inbred lines derived from 8 sources, and their genetic relationship with 20 normal maize inbred lines representing 6 different heterotic groups. Among the 26 popcorn inbred lines, the average number of alleles per SSR locus was 2.66 with a range of 1 to 3, the polymorphism information content (PIC) for the SSR loci varied from 0.068-0.217, and the genetic distance ranged from 0.148-0.524 with an average of 0.357. The cluster analysis showed that all the inbred lines could be classified into two distinct clusters, popcorn and normal maize. The 26 popcorn inbred lines were divided into 8 clusters, with all the parents of elite popcorn crosses being classified into different clusters. The cluster analysis of 20 normal maize inbred lines was accordant with previous studies. Consequently，SSR makers could be used to study the genetic diversity of popcorn inbred lines. The average genetic distance among different clusters of popcorn and normal maize inbred lines were 0.55 to 0.67. To improve popcorn inbreds using normal maize lines in the long run, the genetic relationships should be taken into serious consideration.

Key words: SSR maker, Genetic diversity, Popcorn, Normal maize, Inbred lines, Cluster analysis