Abstract: In our study，we identified 12 WOX family genes, by bioinformatics methods and the apple genome databases，and further analysis was also produced. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the WOX family in Malus × domestica and Arabidopsis can be divided into three clades，including modern clade，intermediate clade and ancient clade. All the members of the WOX family in Malus contained a common motif，motif-1，and different branch-specific motifs existed in different branch members. The analysis on gene structures suggested that WOX family members contained 2 to 4 exons. The chromosome location showed that 11 family members were located on 7 chromosomes of apple，and one is located on chr00 respectively. The analysis of gene expression patterns showed that all members were constitutively expressed in different tissues and organs and preferentially expressed in fruit. The codon bias analysis showed that the apple WOX family genes are less preferred.

Key words: apple, WOX family, bioinformatics, gene expression