Abstract: Objective To investigate the genetic polymorphisms of 18 STR loci （D18S51, D21S11, D3S1358, FGA, D8S1179, vWA, CSF1PO, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, D5S818, D2S1338, D19S433, D12S391, TPOX, TH01, Penta E and D6S1043） in unrelated Uygur individuals in Kashi prefecture of Xinjiang and to explore the application value in forensic practice. Methods Blood samples from 1 381 unrelated Uygur individuals were amplified by using DNA Typer^TM 15 Plus kit. The amplified products were detected by using 3130XL Genetic Analyzer and the genotyping was done by using GeneMapper ID v3.2. Population genetics parameters were calculated and compared with that of the other population. The genetic distance of Reynold’s was calculated and phylogenetic tree was constructed at last. Results Of the 1 381 unrelated Uygur individuals, 231 alleles were detected, with an allele frequency of 0.000 4-0.530 4. The H values were 0.644-0.923, PIC values were 0.587-0.918, and DP values were 0.817-0.988, respectively, with a CPE>0.999 999 9. The genetic distance was the longest （0.088 3） to Guangzhou Han population and the closest （0.050 3） to Greek. Conclusion The 18 STR loci in the Uygur population of Kashi prefecture of Xinjiang have high genetic polymorphisms which are close to Europeans, and can be satisfied as genetic markers of population individual identification and paternity testing.

Key words: forensic genetics, STR, polymorphism, genetic, Xinjiang, Uygur nationality