OBJECTIVE： Conduct a systematic pharmacognostical study on herbs of Paris thibetica Franch. METHODS： The plant morphology of Paris thibetica Franch， characteristics， cross section and powder were all observed. The polyphyllin Ⅰ， Ⅱ， Ⅵ and Ⅶ were used as reference substance for TLC. HPLC method was used to determine the contents of polyphyllin Ⅰ， Ⅱ， Ⅵ and Ⅶ in Paris thibetica Franch. RESULTS： The original plant characteristic of Paris thibetica Franch was the lateral membrane placenta， the fruits were cracked without outer seed coat， a dark red juicy cockatoo aril was wrapped on one side. After literature review， the character differences of Paris polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis （Franch.） Hand.-Mazz. and Paris polyphylla Smith var. chinensis （Franch.） Hara were mainly manifested in the surface color， shape， ring pattern and cross section， but there was no obvious difference in odor. There was no significant difference in the transverse section structure and powder characteristics of      P. polyphylla Smith var. Yunnanensis （Franch.） Hand. Mazz and P. polyphylla Smith var. chinensis （Franch.） Hara. TLC identification showed that polyphyllin Ⅰ， Ⅱ， Ⅵ and Ⅶ were all found in Paris thibetica Franch， the contents were 0.117％， 0.081％， 0.114％， 0.204％， respectively. Total content of polyphyllin Ⅰ， Ⅱ， Ⅵ and Ⅶ was 0.516％， which was different from the standard value of China Pharmacopoeia （total content of them was no less than 0.60％）. CONCLUSIONS： This study can provide scientific basis for the identification and further research of Paris thibetica Franch.