Abstract: Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) catalyzes the reduction reaction of cinnamic aldehyde and its derivatives depending on the NADPH.It is the key enzyme in the last step of lignin biosynthesis. A novel CAD gene designated as SmCAD (GenBank accession No.: HQ162287) was cloned from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge according to the transcription databases. It contained a 1083 bp open reading frame, including 3 introns and 4 exons, and encoded a protein of 360 amino acids. The predicted SmCAD protein had Zn1 and Zn2 binding sites and NADP(H) binding domain. A total of 1202 bp promoter sequences were obtained using BD walking method, and sequence analysis revealed that there were MeJA, ABA, GA₃ response elements and MYB binding sites. Real-time quantitative PCR showed that SmCAD was expressed in different organs, and its expression was induced by MeJA and inhibited by GA₃. These results suggested that this gene may be involved in the response of exogenous signals. This study contributes to the theoretical basis of the specific function of SmCAD.