Abstract: To establish a new method for quality evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine by fingerprinting analysis and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker method (QAMS).The quality evaluation method was established and validated with the prepared pieces of Radix scrophulariae that were commercially available in Chongqing.Cinnamic acid was selected as markers of ingredients to establish HPLC fingerprint and was used as internal reference standard to determine the contents of other 2 components (harpagide,harpagoside) according to the relative correction factor.HPLC fingerprint of R.scrophulariae was finally established.All the tested samples contained 18 common characteristic peaks,3 of which was verified to be harpagide,cinnamic acid and harpagoside.Only 11 of the 16 batches samples conformed to the requirement of pharmacopoeia of Chinese.The similarities of 11 batches of prepared pieces of R.scrophulariae were between 0.731-0.960.In addition,the principal component analysis (PCA) showed that samples were divided into 3 groups efficiently.The method of QAMS combined with fingerprinting analysis was to be a new quality evaluation pattern for R.scrophulariae pieces.The quality of prepared pieces of R.scrophulariae commercially available in Chongqing was uneven.Accordingly,production procedures should be normalized.

Key words: fingerprint, determination, cluster analysis, principal component analysis,  Radix Scrophulariae