The nucleotide sequences of a 504 bp segment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene were analyzed to survey the intraspecific variation of the brown frog, Rana dybowskii, collected from nine populations in South Korea. Comparisons of sequence divergence of the cytochrome b gene suggest that the populations examined are clearly classified into two types (type 1 and type 2), diverged from each other by a high value of 14.3-15.9% sequence divergence. The two types are distributed allopatrically in most populations, but only one population occurs sympatrically. In the Tonghae population, their spawning grounds differ in that type 1 spawns in the puddle and type 2 spawns in the mountain creek. Based on the genetic divergences of the cytochrome b gene sequences, the phylogenetic status of Korean R. dybowskii is elucidated by comparing it with related brown frogs distributed in an area adjacent to the Korean Peninsula. Interspecific sequence divergences among type 1, type 2 and other related brown frog species (Russian R. dybowskii, R. pirica, R. ornativentris, R. chensinensis: 2n=24 chromosomes) used in this study ranged from 11.7 to 16.3%. R. dybowskii in Tsushima is very similar to our type 1 (sequence divergence＝0-1.6%) and R. chensinensis in western China is closest to our type 2 (sequence divergence＝6.8-7.5%).