Abstract:Selenium (Se) distribution in surface soil is non-uniformed. Se content in Se-enriched soil can reach 1 200 mg/kg, toxic to most plants growing in these areas. Therefore, it is important to screen wheat varieties with strong tolerance of Se in Se-rich areas. Ninety-nine wheat varieties were selected for Na2SeO4-tolerance pot experiment. Na2SeO4 (120 mg Na2SeO4 per pot in 1 L water) (Se120) was applied at the jointing stage of wheat with 0 mg Na2SeO4 per pot in 1 L water as control (CK). Chlorophyll content in leaves in heading period (represented by SPAD value), plant height (PH), the green leaf area (GLA), leaf number per plant (NPP) and the number of functional leaf (NFL) were measured in 25 days after flowering for each treatment. Thousand-kernel weight (TKW) was measured after harvest. The differences of these agronomic traits between Se120 and CK was studied. The results indicated that Se120 treatment significantly increased TKW of wheat grains (P<0.01), decreased PH, GLA, NPP and NFL significantly (P<0.01) compared with the CK, but there was no significant impact on SPAD(P>0.05). The differences of agronomic traits between Se120 and CK were taken as an index of wheat Se tolerance. The Mahalanobis distances method and cluster analysis were employed to comprehensively evaluate Se tolerance and sensitivity of wheat. It was found that X325, Huaimai18, Yangmai15, Huai9440 and Yangmai11showed high Se tolerance while Yangmai2 and Corrine were Se sensitive cultivars. This study provides useful information for breeding of wheat varieties with Se tolerance ability and for Se biofortification in wheat.