Cryptosporidium spp.infect a wide range of hosts including humans and cattle,and cattle is the most common species of mammals known to be infected with Cryptosporidium spp.,and is the main source of human infection with Cryptosporidium.Traditionally,identification of Cryptosporidium spp.is based on morphologic examination,mainly using Sheather's sugar flotation technique and modified acid:fast staining method,but this approach is not reliable for delineating Cryptosporidium species because of their morphologic similarities.The present study examined the prevalence and genotypes of Cryptosporidium andersoni in cattle in Shaanxi province,China.A total of 2071 fecal samples (847 from Qinchuan cattle and 1224 from dairy cattle) were examined for the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts,and 70 samples (3.4%) were C.andersoni:positive and those positive samples were identified by PCR amplification of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) and the Cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein (COWP) genes.C.andersoni was the only species found in the examined cattle in this province.Fifty:seven C.andersoni isolates were characterized into 5 MLST subtypes using multilocus sequence typing analysis,including a new subtype in the native beef breed Qinchuan cattle.All of these C.Andersoni isolates presented a clonal genetic structure.These findings provide new insights into the genetic structure of C.andersoni isolates in Shaanxi province and basic data of Cryptosporidium prevalence status,which in turn have implications for controlling cryptosporidiosis in this province.