Abstract:Ampelopsis s. str. is a genus of deciduous vines from the grapevine family Vitaceae. It is mainly distributed in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere with a high species richness in east Asia.In this study, 37 samples from 15 species of Ampelopsis s. str. were sequenced using 5 chloroplast (trnLF, rps16, psbAtrnH, atpBrbcl, and trnKpetN) and 2 nuclear markers (ITS and GAI1) for exploring the phylogenetic relationships within the genus, the evolution of leaf traits, and the evolution of biogeographic.The results showed that: (1) supported the monophyly of the genus and all species from eastern Asia form a clade with high support values. (2) Chloroplast results revealed that the eastern Asian lineage is divided into two clades, largely consistent with the geographic pattern of the SinoJapanese and SinoHimalayan subregions of the eastern Asian flora. (3) The morphological evolution analysis showed that palmate compound leaf was the ancestral characteristic, and the morphological characters of leaf had independent origin and evolution for many times. (4) The Ampelopsis s. str. was suggested to be most likely originated in North America with migration to the Europe in the late Oligocene to early Miocene via the North Atlantic Land Bridge, followed with spread to eastern Asia in the middle Miocene. Ampelopsis s. str. was well diversified in eastern Asia, probably resulted from the warm climate in the middle Miocene, less impact of the Quaternary glaciation and the complex topography of eastern Asia.