Abstract: A somatological survey on111 Lai people living in Guangxi was carried out in 1988. Thesurvey covered 60 adult males from 20 to 65 years old and 51 adultfemales' from 20 to 65years old.
The results of the survey are summarized breifly as' follows: Judging by all nonmetricaldata, Lai people obviously belong to the Mongolian race. Averagesof most measurement ofLai people are close to those of Li and Zhuang nationality. All measurements arehigher inmale than in female. They belong to the thin physical type.
ln view of the cluster graph of kinship matrix of Lai people and 18 groups of others inChina, the Lai people is closer to the Li nationality and Zhuang nationality than others.
The Lai people are considercd to belong to Southern Asian pattern of Mongoliod inphysical characters. They may originate from the same ancester as other inhabitants living inSouthern China.

Key words: Somatoscop; Anthropometry; Lai people; Guangxi