RAPD and SSR were applied to assess genetic diversity in 61 tomato varieties from different species （Solanum lycopersicum L., hirsutum. Humb L., pimpinellifolium Miller L., chilense Dun. L., chmielenskii L., peruvianum Miller L., parvuflorum Miller L.）. 2 062 and 869 clear fragments were amplified by RAPD and SSR, respectively. On the other hand, more polymorphic products were found by SSR as compared to RAPD, i.e., 100 and 43.84%, respectively. In addition, a higher value of the average similarity coefficient and lower PIC value were reflected in RAPD （0.79, 0.407） compared to SSR （0.56, 0.687）. It can be inferred that SSR was a higher effective marker than RAPD to assess genetic diversity in tomato accessions. Similarly, the genetic base of tomato varieties in Chinese market was narrow. It is suggested that wild tomato varieties should be used to enrich the genetic base of the cultivated tomato varieties.
