Objective A comparison of RAPD maps of gerbils and laboratory rats and mice was made in order to explore a new method for distinguishing different strains of laboratory animals.Methods DNA was extracted from the tail tissues from different strains of animals(gerbil,BALB/c,C57BL/6,KM,F344,BN,SD).Six pairs of primers were used to amplify their DNA.Results The amplified band patterns were apparently different in the products of 5 primers(p1,p2,p3,p4 and p6).Conclusion Our results indicate that it is feasible to distinguish different strains of laboratory animals by RAPD method.