Abstract: AIM: To reveal the difference between the groups of herbal and woody in Aralia. METHODS: An accurate RP-HPLC method with variable wavelength for the determination of neoliguiritin (I), 5,8-dimethoxycoumarin (II), isoliquritoside (III) and 8-［(2″,3″)-prenyl］-4′-methoxy-flavone-7-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(2→1)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (IV) in 11 species of Aralia has been developed. The analytical column used was Supelco SIL-LC-18. The mobile phase was 40% MeOH to absolute MeOH. Gradient elution was employed. The flow rate was 1.0 ml.min^-1. From 0.00～8.30 min the elute was detected at 276 nm, 8.30～14.00 min at 343 nm, 14.00～20.00 min at 361 nm and 20.00～30.00 min at 272 nm. During the detection, the wavelength was changed to obtain high sensitivity and precision. The linear ranges of I～IV were 0.0175～0.5600 μg, 0.0118～0.3760 μg, 0.0090～0.2875 μg and 0.0097～0.3090 μg, respectively. The recoveries of I～IV were between 94.78% and 98.92%. RESULTS: The content of coumarin was higher in woody than in herbal. CONCLUSION: Coumarin is the specific constituent in the group of herbal, which is the difference from the woody.