PCR-based DNA fingerprinting, REP-PCR (repetitive element PCR), RAPD (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA) and 16S rDNA sequence analyses were used to characterize 23Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidansstrains isolated from different environments. (GTG)5 and BOXA1R primer were selected for REP-PCR. Twenty arbitrary primers were used for RAPD to acquire DNA profiles fromA. ferrooxidans. Both RAPD and REP-PCR produce complex banding patts and show good discriminatory ability in differentiating closely related strains ofA. ferrooxidans. The strains are clustered into 4 or 5 major groups and reveal genomic diversity using (GTG)5-PCR, BOX-PCR and RAPD analysis. Phylogenetic tree based on 16S rDNA sequences of 23 strains and related strains shows that they are clustered into two distinct groups. Twelve strains are highly related to a newAcidithiobacillus namedAcidithiobacillus ferrivorans. The results indicate that PCR-based methods are effective in revealing genetic diversity among A. ferrooxidans.