Objective: To establish a common pattern of HPLC characteristic fingerprint for anthraquinones in Rumei Radix et Rhizoma from different regions

and evaluate the quality of 31 batches of rhubarb from different regions. Method: HPLC was used on diamonsil C18 (4.6 mm×200 mm

5 μm) column

with methanol and 0.2% formic acid solution as the mobile phase for gradient elution. The flow rate was 1.0 mL·min-1; column temperature was 30℃

and the detection wavelength was 254 nm.By using Traditional Chinese Medicine Chromatographic Fingorprint Similarity Evaluation System(2004 A) was used for similarity evaluation

and SPSS 18.0 combined with cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the quality of rhubarb in 31 batches. Result: Six common fingerprint peaks were found

and three components were identified:emodin (4th peak)

chrysophanol (5th peak) and physcion (6th peak). For precision

stability and repeatability of the fingerprint

the average RSD of retention time was less than 2%

and the average RSD of relative peak area was less than 5%. Rumei Radix et Rhizoma was divided into 2 types in CA and PCA methods

and the similarity was above 0.8 in 27 batches

indicating that there were similarity and difference between 31 batches of rhubarb. Conclusion: Fingerprint combined with chemical pattern recognition is conducive to a comprehensive and accurate control of the internal quality of Rumei Radix et Rhizoma medicinal materials.