Objective To investigate the genetic differences among different populations based on 13 autosomal STR loci in CODIS core. Methods Data of 13 autosomal STR loci （CSF1PO, FGA, THO1, TPOX, vWA, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D21S11） were collected from 95 populations in scientific journals between 1999 and 2021, soursed from the PubMed database, which had been published. Allele frequencies of loci were sorted out and forensic genetic parameters including gene differentiation coefficient （Gst）, total heterozygosity （Ht）, subpopulation heterozygosity （Hs） values, and Nei’s DA genetic distance were calculated. Principal component analysis, phylogenetic tree, and multidimensional scale analysis were conducted to assess population genetic structure. Results A total of 265 alleles were detected at the 13 STR loci in these 95 populations. The mean values of Gst, Ht, and Hs were 0.023 247, 0.797 915 and 0.779 365. Population genetic analyses reflected significant differences among populations from Asia, Africa and Europe. In Asian populations, there was a certain degree of distinction between mainland and island populations; the Han population showed a certain degree of distinction with surrounding populations in mainland; while within the Han population, there were two distinct clusters formed by the northern Han and the southern Han. Conclusion The 13 autosomal STR loci in CODIS core demonstrate potential value for population identification across different groups, and may be used for the differentiation of ethnic groups, among different continental populations.
