4coumarate: CoA ligase (4CL) plays an important regulatory role in the phenylaprapanoid metabolism. In this study, 11 4CL genes named Ib4CL1-Ib4CL11 were identified in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) based on transcriptome data. The results of sequence alignment and functional domain analysis showed that all Ib4CL had typical 4CL structural feature, containing the conserved Box Ⅰ and Box Ⅱ domains. Evolutionary and conserved motif analysis suggested that Ib4CL1 and Ib4CL2 belong to Class Ⅰ, Ib4CL3 belongs to Class Ⅱ, and Ib4CL4Ib4CL11 belong to 4CLlike proteins. Transcriptome data and quantitative realtime PCR analysis showed that the transcriptional levels of Ib4CL3 and Ib4CL10 in leaves were significantly higher than that in stems and roots, which were positively related to the accumulation of chlorogenic acid; Ib4CL4 and Ib4CL8 were higher expressed in young leaves, closely related to the accumulation of anthocyanins. The results laid the foundation for further revealing possible function of 4CL genes in phenylaprapanoid metabolism of sweet potato.