The Hani is a local minority in the southwestern part of China. To establish a database of ethnic short tandem repeats (STRs), 17 autosomal STRs in the Hani ethnic group were investigated. A total of 706 unrelated individuals from three Hani settlements were genotyped using the PowerPlex 18D System. Allele frequency data and forensic parameters were evaluated. The genetic relationship among the Hani and 11 related populations was assessed.