In order to reveal the function of dihydroflavonol 4reductase (DFR) gene in the regulation of anthocyanin synthesis of kale, we determined the anthocyanin content of kale leaves with different colors. Meanwhile, according to the DFR sequence information of cabbage, we cloned the BoDFR gene of kale by RTPCR and analyzed by realtime fluorescence quantitative expression. The results showed that: the cDNA sequence of BoDFR was 1 158 bp in length and corresponding to 385 amino acid residues, and the relative molecular weight of coding protein was 42 925.06 Da. The subcellular localization most likely be cytoplasm. Results of secondary structure analysis exhibited that αhelix and random coil were primary secondary structural components of the DFR protein. Sequence alignment showed that DFR protein has a NADPH binding domain and substrate specific binding domain, belonging to the NADBRossmann supergene family. Phylogenetic analysis showed that BoDFR had the closest relationship with DFR of cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata). Results of anthocyanins measurement showed that the highest contents of anthocyanins were detected in purple leaves, the higher content of pink leaves, while no anthocyanins were detected in white leaves. Realtime fluorescence quantitative PCR analysis showed that the expression of BoDFR was positively correlated with the change of anthocyanin content. The highest expression was found in purpleleaf kale, but very weak expression was detected in whiteleaf kale.