Abstract:To research the effect of nitrogen-fixing bacteria on grow of cotton, we used the technique of ERIC-PCR and 16S rDNA sequencing analysis to study genetic diversity of 58 nitrogen-fixing bacteria isolated from Tarim cotton soils in Xinjiang province. Cluster analysis was used for ERIC-PCR results of these strains by UPGMA. The results showed that the tested strains formed 9 clusters when the Waston distance was about 0.65. The typic strains of 9 clusters were identified as Enterobacter, Bacillus, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Serratia, Yersinia by 16S rRNA sequencing analysis.