The toxigenic genus Alexandrium includes ~30 species, but information about its biogeography at a regional scale is limited. In this study, we explored the diversity of Alexandrium along the coast of China by incubating resting cysts collected from 7 sites. A total of 231 strains of Alexandrium belonging to 7 morphospecies were found. Among them, Alexandrium andersonii, Alexandrium fraterculum, Alexandrium leei, Alexandrium pseudogonyaulax, and Alexandrium tamutum were recorded from the China Sea for the first time. Partial large subunit (LSU) and/or internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1, ITS2, and 5.8S rDNA) sequences revealed two ribotypes of Alexandrium andersonii, Alexandrium leei, and Alexandrium tamarense: Atama complex Group I and IV. Atama complex Group I was exclusively distributed in the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea, whereas Group IV was restricted to the East China Sea and South China Sea. Atama complex Group I produced mainly N-sulfocarbamoyl toxins (C1/C2, 61-79% of total toxins) and gonyautoxins (GTX1/4, 17-37%). Alexandrium ostenfeldii strain ASBH01 produced NEO and STX exclusively (65% and 35%, respectively). Our results support the premise that Atama complex Group I is endemic to the Asian Pacific and includes cold water species, whereas Atama complex Group IV tends to inhabit warmer waters. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.