Abstract: The amount of DNA in an unreplicated gametic chromosome complement is known as the genome size，namely the DNA 1C-value. Information about genome size is of great importance as fundamental reference for research on comparative genomics and genome evolution. To gain a clear understanding on the variation of vegetable genome size，we collected data on genome size from the main vegetables first. Statistical and comparative analysis suggested that flow cytometry（FC）is the best method for genome size estimation；Lotus root（Nelumbo nucifera）has the smallest genome size（0.24 pg）in vegetables while the biggest is natural tetraploid Allium chinense（32.75 pg）；The family with the highest average genome size is Amaryllidaceae（19.08 pg）and the two families with the lowest（both are 0.78 pg）are Brassicaceae and Cucurbitaceae；The vegetable genome size is significantly higher in perennials than that of non-perennials，and the same in monocots than that of dicots.

Key words: vegetable, genome size, DNA 1C-value, comparative genomics