Abstract: In order to screen special germplasm resources of tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) with high ester-catechin content, 780 tea plant resources in the Tea Variety Garden of Fujian were utilized as material. According to the appearance of tea plant, 45 tea plant resources were screened as candidate. The ester-catechin contents of spring tea shoots, summer tea shoots and autumn tea shoots in 45 cultivars or lines were analyzed by isocratic elution HPLC. The result was as follows: ester-catechin content of tea plant shoots varied greatly with cultivars or lines. In spring tea shoots, summer tea shoots, autumn tea shoots, and the ester-catechin contents in 45 cultivars or lines were in the range of 5.21%~24.03%、3.05%~20.31%、2.89%~19.66%, averaged 16.08%、14.73%、9.96%, respectively. The variation coefficients were 22.26%、24.10%、40.76%, respectively. The ester-catechin contents in the shoot of the same cultivars in different season, mostly: spring tea shoots >summer tea shoots >autumn tea shoots. There were 5 cultivars and lines(033、505、509、524、1005), which the annual average ester-catechin contents exceeded 19%. These could be considered as special tea plant germplasm resources with high ester-catechin contents and be used as important materials of both quality genetic improvement and the extraction of ester-catechin from tea plant. There were 8 cultivars and lines(033、505、509、510（1）、510（2）、524、1001、1005), which the ratio of ester-catechin contents to total catechins content exceeded 80%（ordinary level is 68%）. These could be used as special materials for extracting the tea polyphenols or catechins.

Key words: Tea Plant, Ester-catechin, Special Resources, Screening