Abstract: The study reviewed the information/evidences on archaeology,historic references,linguistics,plant genetics and ethnobotany concerning the origin of tea cultivation.Tea cultivation occurred in Sichun province at least before Han Dynasty (206 BC.220 AD.).Indigenous people in Yunnan province appeared to start to gather tea leaves from their surrounding natural forest very long time ago.Today's rich tea varieties resulted from the contributions from the domestication by several nationalities in China.The definite conclusion for the origin of tea cultivation requires new evidences.

Key words: Tea cultivation；Archeological evidence；Ethnobotany；Genetics；Linguistic；Origin