Food habits of Hainan Eld’s Deer(Cervus eldi hainanus)were studied between October 2001 and September 2002 in Hainan Datian National Nature Reserve,China.Food items were determined by means of direct observations of foraging Hainan Eld’s Deer and examinations of fresh forage sites located on 6 transects crossing the whole study area.1 273 feeding sites were examined and recorded.The deer fed on 234 species of plants during study period,among which 71 species were shrubs,161 were herbages and 2 were ferns.Only 76 species were used above 0.01% of feeding frequency in the feeding sites.The feeding frequency of these species comprised of 81.85% of the total feeding frequency.The deer had obviously selectivity on foraging sites in both wet and dry seasons(dry season χ²= 21.476,P= 0.000 7;wet season χ²=19.882,P= 0.001 3;df=5).They preferred to feed in the tropical grasslands in dry season and in monsoon forest in wet season,however,the difference in seasonal feeding habitat selection did not reach the significant level(χ²=9.447,P=0.092 5,df=5).The deer fed more food items(30 vs.18)and more shrubs and trees(14 vs.6)in dry season than in the rain season.