This study aimed to screen out cold-tolerant sugarcane cultivars through acomprehensive cold tolerance evaluation. A total of 9 sugarcane cultivars with good agronomic traits, bred by the Yunnan Agricultural University, were selected. They were treated by low temperaturestress （3 ℃）, and the changes of their cold-tolerant physiological and biochemical indices were monitored. The cold tolerance of the sugarcane cultivars was evaluated comprehensively by polar ordination. The results showed that the low temperature stress increased the averagemembrane conductivi- ty, soluble sugar content, MDA content, proline content, soluble protein content, chlorophyll content and peroxidase （POD） activity in sugarcane leaves by 21.21%, 134.1%, 83.60%, 35.47%, 47.72%, 9.07% and 565.2%, respectively, but decreased the superoxide dismutase （SOD） activity in sugarcane leaves by 19.67%. Among the 9 sugarcane cultivars, Dianzhe 03-91 showed the strongest cold tolerance, while Dianzhe 02-39 showed the poorest cold tolerance; the cold tolerance of Dianzhe 08-5, Dianzhe 05-103 and Dianzhe 01-58 was stronger than that of Dianzhe 04- 14, Dianzhe 04-429, Dianzhe 05-522 and Dianzhe 02-227.
