A simple, specific and reliable high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed and validated for study of fingerprint chromatograms of extracts from the whole plant of Clematis huchouensis Tamura (CHT) for quality control of a traditional Chinese medicinal (TCM) herb. An Agilent C18 column was used to separate extracts in this protocol and detection was made by ultraviolet absorbance at 340 nm. The column temperature was maintained at 25 degrees C. A mobile phase consisting of (a) water (with 30 mM KH2PO4) and (b) CH3CN, (c) CH3OH was found to be suitable for this separation at a flow rate of 0.8 microl min(-1) with gradient elution. Under the described conditions, a fingerprint profile of 8 compounds was collected within 35 min, which made the HPLC method unique and interesting. The fingerprint chromatograms had good stability, precision and reproducibility. Moreover, eco-climatic (habitat) effects were studied by comparison of fingerprint chromatograms obtained from extracts of CHT collected from two habitats, with rutin as a reference marker peak. The protocol developed is quite suitable for differentiation of extracts of CHT and can be used as a quality control method for this herb and a model for other herbal drugs.