Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) provides biochemical profiles containing overlapping signals from a majority of the compounds that are present when whole.samples are analyzed. The spectra of the xylem of 112 samples belonging to 12 species and 5 genera in Caprifoliaceae were determined directly with FTIR spectrometry and OMNI-sampler. Based on the indices of wave number -absorbance, the phylogenetic relationships of the 12 species were analyzed by the methods of principal coordinate analysis (PCO) and cluster analysis. The results showed that the infrared spectra of the 12 plant species are finger-print-like patterns which are highly typical for different taxa. Genus Heptacodium has close relation with the tribe Linnaeeae, and Lonicereae, showing that its systematic position is probably located between the two tribes. There is no obvious difference between Viburnum and Sambucus, so the authors thought it would be better to put the two genera in Caprifoliaceae. Therefore, the infrared spectra are of taxonomic value at the level of species and genera, and this technique could be widely used for identification and classification of other taxa when standard spectra are available.