Objective  To establish a method for evaluating the characteristics of seed-derived Vitis davidii seedlings.

  Method  Sixteen characteristics including stem girth, shoot length, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf area, leaf dry and fresh weight, and blade structure of the seedlings were determined for a comprehensive evaluation by principal component analysis.

  Result  Significant variations were found on the growth of the seedlings, especially on shoot length, leaf chlorophyll content, and stem girth. The first 6 principal components made up 86.254% of the total contribution. The first principal component was determined by the stem girth, shoot length, chlorophyll content, leaf area, and fresh and dry weights of the leaves; the second principal component by the lengths of midrib, upper lateral vein, lower lateral vein, and downmost vein; and, the third principal component by the leaf width and the angle between upper lateral vein and midrib.

  Conclusion  Using the eigenvalues corresponding to the 6 principal components and the ratio of single to extracted principal component, a comprehensive evaluation model for the seed-derived V.davidii seedlings was established. Accordingly, S4 and S35 scored the highest among the specimens. A rapid method to screen V.davidii resources at seedling stage for cultivar selection and new variety breeding had thus become available.