Abstract: The family Aceraceae, with 2 genera and about 202 species, is an important family in temperate forests of North hemisphere. Ecology and distribution of the family and systematic rela-tionships among subgenera and sections of the genus Acer are discussed on present paper. It is concluded that Aceraceae is originated from the tropical area based on analysis of paleoendemics and neoendemics though the family distributed in north temperate. The ancestral forms and both paleoendemics and neoendemics of the family are concentrated in Hengduan mountains, China. And this area is also rich in species and veriety and conjuction with paleoendemics and neoendemics. It is probably that would been an origin place of Aceraceae.

Key words: Aceraceae