The nucleotide sequence for a nuclear-encoded small subunit rDNA (SSU rDNA) was determined for 43 species of the class Dinophyceae, including harmful algae Cochlodinium polykrikoides and Gyrodinium aureolum. These sequences and data analyses were performed by parsimony, distances and maximum likelihood methods in PHYLIP (Phylogenetic Inference Package) version 3.573c. The species Noctiluca scintillans, Gonyaulax spinifern and Crypthecodinium cohnii occupied a basal position within the Dino- phyceae in our analyses. The genera Alexandrium and Symbiodinium were monophyletic (supported by a bootstrap value of >70%), whereas the genera Gymnedinium and Gyrodinium formed polyphyletic nodes, for which bootstrap support was strong (>70%) in the neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood methods except for the PHYLIP parsimony analysis (=59%). The sequence divergence between G. aureolum and G. dorsum/ G. galathenum was the largest at 7.4% (45 bp), whereas G. aureolum and G. mikimotoi showed an extremely low value of genetic divergence of 0.9% (5 bp). The genetic divergence between C. polykrikoides and G. aureolum was a low value of 5.2% (31 bp). In the phylogenetic analysis, the placement of G. aureolum and C. polykrikoides was closer to the genus Gymnodinium than to the genus Gyrodinium, which was supported by a moderate bootstrap value.