Four Erwinia carotovora strains isolated from potatoes showing blackleg symptoms and rotted Chinese cabbage were analysed by biochemical tests and sequence analysis of 16S rDNA and 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer (IGS) regions, and the data were compared to related E. carotovora strains. Based on the results of the biochemical tests and sequence analysis, 2 of the 4 strains were identified as E. carotovora subsp. carotovora (Ecc), whereas the rest strains were distinct from Ecc. The last two strains, HCC3 and JEJU, were biochemically similar to E. carotovora subsp. atroseptica (Eca). However, the results of sequence analysis and Eca-specific PCR assays showed that the strains were distinct from Eca. On the basis of 16S rDNA sequence analysis, HCC3 and JEJU strains were placed in E. carotovora subsp. odorifera and E. carotovora subsp. wasabiae, respectively. The results of sequence analysis and specific PCR assay for Eca indicated that Asian Eca strains were distinct from European Eca strains, although they were phenotycally homogeneous.