We analyzed the nucleotide sequences of about 500 bp of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 3 (ND3) gene to estimate the genetic variation of Korean masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) populations. DNA samples were collected from 104 river-only specimens and 52 anadromous specimens from three hatcheries and one river. There are no records of artificial release into the river. We amplified the ND3 gene by polymerase chain reaction, targeting areas that included parts of the cytochrome oxidase III gene and the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4L gene, and defined 14 haplotypes based on 12 variable nucleotide sites in the examined region. Among the haplotypes, ten were specific to river-only specimens within hatchery populations. Haplotype diversity of river-only populations in hatcheries was higher than that of anadromous and wild populations. Pairwise population $F_{ST}$ estimates and neighbor-joining tree analyses inferred that anadromous and river-only populations were distinct. These results suggest that sequence polymorphism in the ND3 region may be a useful marker for analyzing the genetic variation and population structure of masu salmon.