Abstract:[Objective] This study is aimed to analyze the diversity of actinobacteria in soils of the Henan Yellow River wetland and screen actinobacteria strains which have antagonistic activity against plant pathogens. [Methods] High-throughput sequencing based on Illumina HiSeq technology was used to analyze the actinobacterial diversity and distribution in the Henan Yellow River wetland. We used eight selective media to isolate actinobacteria from 21 soil samples collected from Sanmenxia, Zhengzhou and Kaifeng Yellow River wetland. The cultivable actinobacteria were identified and phylogeny analyzed based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences. The active isolates were screened using seven plant pathogens as targets, and 5 functional genes were assayed, including polyketide synthases gene (PKS-I, PKS-Ⅱ), nonribosomal peptide synthetases gene (NRPS), 3-amino-5-hydroxybenzoic acid synthases gene (AHBA) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A gene (HMG CoA). [Results] The high-throughput sequencing results indicated that the actinobacteria were abundant in Henan Yellow River wetland and there were significant differences among different wetland areas and different habitats in the same wetland. Nocardioides was the most frequently isolated genus, followed by the genera Streptomyces, CL500-29 marine group, Fodinicola, Mycobacterium and Micromonospora. In addition, there are still a lot of unknown groups. We isolated a total of 261 dereplicated strains, belonging to 7 orders, 9 families and 9 genera of the phylum Actinobacteria. They were including 97 putative species and eight unknown species. Among them, 86 actinobacteria strains have antagonistic activity against plant pathogens; 74 strains contain at least one gene which involved active metabolites synthesis. [Conclusion] Actinobacteria species diversity was abundant in Henan Yellow River wetland and new species have potential as biocontrol agents against plant diseases.