Abstract: The Dongxiang people (106 males and 101 females) living in the :Dongxiang County ofGansu Province wereinvestigated and measured anthropometrically from July to Septemberin 1988. The age ranges are from 23 to 55 in male and 20 to 50 in female. Their parents andgrandparents are all of Dongxiang nationality.
The items of 44 direct measurements, 8 indirect measurements and 48 indices were studi-ed. The measurements and indices of all individuals were classified into 15 different types ac-cording to the standards of Martin and Saller (1957). The conclusions are as follows:
The mean stature of males is 1667 mm, and that of females is 1542 mm. In staiure type,the frequency of medium and tall is 48.1% and short, medium short is 27.2% in males, the fre-quency of short and medium short is 41 .6%, medium. and tall is 34.7% in females.
According to five different indices (eu- eu/g -op, auricular height/g -op, auricular height/eu-eu, n-gn/zy-zy and nasal breadth/nasal height), most of the head typesbelong to mesoce-phaly, hypsicephaly and laptorostriocephaly respectively in both males and females. Most ofthe facial types belong to leptoprosopy and hyper leptoprosopy inboth males andfemales.Most of the nasal types belong to leptorrhiny in both males and females.
On the basis of constitutional characteristics of Dongxiang nationality, together with otherevidences, the present authors prefer the fusion hypothesis of the origin of Dongxiang na-tionality, that is the Dongxiang nationality was formed by the fusion ofthe Hui,Mongol,Han and Zang (Tibetan) nationalities.

Key words: Anthropometry; Donaxiang Nationality