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Seventy-two XinjiangTriticumandTriticum polonicumaccessions were subjected to AFLP analyses to discuss the origin ofTriticum petropavlovskyi. A total of 91 putative loci were produced by four primer combinations. Among them 56 loci were polymorphic, which is equivalent to 61.53 % of the total number of putative loci. Genetic diversity among 11T. petropavlovskyiaccessions was narrow due to the lowest number (32) of polymorphic loci among the wheat species. Forty four polymorphic loci were found inT. aestivumandT. compactum, whereas the highest polymorphism was observed inT. polonicum. On the basis of the UPGMA clustering and PCO grouping and genetic similarity estimates from the AFLPs, we noted thatT. petropavlovskyiwas more closely related to the Chinese accessions ofT. polonicumthan toT. polonicumfrom other countries. Two accessions ofT. aestivumwere grouped withT. petropavlovskyiin the UPGMA clustering. Both of them were similar toT. petropavlovskyiin respect of spike structure, i.e. the presence of awn, glume awn and also the presence of leaf pubescence. Six loci, which were commonly absent in ChineseT. polonicum, were also absent in almost all of theT. petropavlovskyiaccessions. Findings of this study reduced the probability of an independent allopolyploidization event in the origin ofT. petropavlovskyiand indicated a greater degree of gene flow betweenT. aestivumandT. polonicumleading toT. petropavlovskyi. It is most likely that theP-gene ofT. petropavlovskyihexaploid wheat was introduced fromT. polonicumtoT. aestivumvia a spontaneous introgression or breeding effort.