Genetic variation of 5 Chinese indigenous meat goat breeds and one introduced breed were examined using 10 microsatellite DNA markers．Ten of all the microsatellite loci were highly polymorphic and effective markers for analysis of genetic diversity and relationship among goat populations. The result showed that 6 meat goat breeds have high genetic diversity. The genetic differentiation was low between meat goat breeds which displayed only 8.2% of the total genetic variance among the different breeds. Neighbour-joining (NJ) dendrogram clustered Chinese indigenous meat goat breeds and Boer goat into different groups. Furthermore, Chinese indigenous meat goat breeds were grouped into several different phylogenetic clusters which corresponded to the geographic regions. This grouping pattern was further supported by both UPGMA dendrogram and scatter plots of estimates from principal component analyses. These results may provide a scientific basis for the characteristization, conservation and utilization of Chinese meat goats.