Objective:To determine the contents of eight ginsenosides in the root of Panax ginseng by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Methods:Panax ginseng was extracted with methanol solution for 30 min.The HPLC condition was as follows-column:Agilent SB-C18(3.0 mm×100 mm,3.5 μm); mobile phase:A was ACN,B was H2O,with gradient elution;the gradient of A phase:18%-20%(0-14 min),20%-29%(14-20 min),29%(20-25 min),29%-37%(25-34 min),37%-55%(34-40 min); flow speed:0.6 ml/min; detection:203 nm; temperature of column:25℃;injection volume:10 μl. Results:Eight ginsenosides (Rb1,Rb2,Rb3,Rc,Rd,Re,Rf and Rg1) were separated at baseline within 35 min with good linearity (r=0.9999).The result of intra-day and inter-day precisions,limits of detection and quantitation were all within the normal range. The recovery rates(n=3) were 101.07%,98.72%,101.57%,101.71%,102.12%,99.58%,98.62%,and 100.12%,respectively. The contents of eight ginsenosides in 6 different batches of Panax ginseng from 3 sources were determined.Conclusion:The present method is rapid,simple,accurate and can be used to control the quality of Panax ginseng.