Abstract:A taxonomic treatment of Polyspora Sweet （Theaceae） from China is given, based on the latest available data on DNA and morphology. It is revealed that Gordonia Ellis s. 1. is not a monophyletic group. The species from North America and from East Asia should be separated into two different genera, Gordonia Ellis s. str. and Polyspora Sweet, respectively. All Chinese species formerly placed in Gordonia are transferred to Polyspora and seven new combinations are proposed.