The chemical characteristics of Salvia miltiorrhiza, also called "danshen" in China, were investigated on the basis of the simultaneous quantitative determination of 13 hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds, namely, protocatechuic acid, protocatechuic aldehyde, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, isoferulic acid, rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid B, salvianolic acid A, dihydrotanshinone I, przewalskin, cryptotanshinone, tanshinone I, and tanshinone HA, in 74 samples collected from different locations using ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC). Hierarchical clustering analysis based on 13 investigated compounds and the similarity of the entire chromatographic pattern showed that S. miltiorrhiza was significantly different from Salvia przewalskii, an adulterant of danshen. The chemical characteristics of S. miltiorrhiza collected from different locations in China were revealed, and salvianolic acid B, rosmarinic acid, cryptotanshinone, and tanshinones I and IIA were optimized as markers for the evaluation, which is helpful in the quality control of S. miltiorrhiza. © 2009 American Chemical Society.