Carthamus tinctorius L. (Compositae) is an herb primarily distributed throughout in the world. The species is regarded as ecologically important in the world. Safflower was used for medicines, as well as making red (carthamin) and yellow dyes. We have used the RAPD technique to investigate the phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity of C. tinctorius. We obtained 123 bands from all the 26 cultivars. The average number of bands was 9.5 per primer. The genetic diversity of safflower is found among cultivars and there is a high among-cultivar differentiation. The OPC18-01 band is the specific marker for Syria cultivar, whereas no products were detected in individuals from other country cultivars. We found seven phenetic bands for determining the specific marker of cultivars with SCAR markers. Though the number of individuals sampled for analysis was small and probably not fully representative of the total available diversity in C. tinctorius, this study demonstrates that the regions (Morocco, Syria, and Turkey) of the Mediterranean Sea were more variable than other regions with the exception of India. In this result, although only simple result of RAPD is difficult to assert the center of species diversity of C. tinctorius, the regions of the Mediterranean Sea may be the most probable candidate for the origin of safflower. India was also the candidate of the center or secondary center of species diversity of C. tinctorius. RAPD markers were effective in classifying cultivar levels of safflower.