[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the chromosomes and karyotypes of three seagrass species of hydrocharitaceae-Enhalus acoroides, Thalassia hemprichii and Halophila minor collected from Li’an Lagoon, Hainan Province, China. [Method] The root-tips of E. acoroides, T. hemprichii and the axillary buds of H. minor were selected as the materials in this study. The conventional crushing method was used to prepare the slice specimens of chromosomes, and the karyotypes of the three species were analyzed. [Result] The chromosome numbers of E. acoroides, T. hemprichii and H. minor were 2n=18, 18, 28, respectively. The karyotype formulas were K （2n）=18= 12m＋6sm, K（2n）=18=12m＋6sm and K（2n）=28=16m＋8sm＋4st, respectively. According to the standard of Stebbins, the karyotypes of E. acoroides and T. hemprichii were 2A, and that of H. minor was 2B. There was no B chromosome and satellite in these three species. [Conclusion] According to the comparison on the karyotypes of this three species, E. acoroides and T. hemprichii are similar in karyotypes to each other, indicating that there is close, inter-relationship between E. acoroides and T. hemprichii.
