Seven precursors (premiRNAs) and seven mature sequence of the miR171 family were obtained for analyzing the evolutionary characterization and its expression from Dimocarpus longan Lour. (longan) mRNA and miRNA databases. The prediction results using mfold showed that the sequence of premiR171 family members could form a typical secondary structure，and the minimum folding free energy (dG) in the range of -39.37 to -55.13 kal/mol. Other members of the mature sequence matched exactly with vvimiR171a， ptcmiR171f and ctrmiR171 except premiR171scaffold112 and premiR171fscaffold38. NJ phylogenetic tree analysis showed higher sequence homology with that from Citrus reticulata and Populus trichocarpa. Target prediction showed that the main target of longan miR171 family were Scarecrowlike6，which was the same as miR171 target of other plants. qPCR results indicated that premiR171 family were strong expressed in the male flower and low in the fruit. It was suggested that the miR171 family was highly conserved during the evolution and might play important roles in the development of male flowers in longan.