In this study of 212 unrelated Singapore Chinese males, allelic frequencies and gene diversities of II Y-chromosome specific STR loci (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385a/b, DYS438 and DYS439) were established. A total of 184 haplotypes were observed in the 212 individuals studied, of which 165 (89.67%) were unique. The most common haplotype was observed in five (2.35%) individuals. The overall haplotype diversity for the 11Y-STR loci was 99.81%, and the discrimination capacity was 86.79%. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.