Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are short cDNA sequences generated from randomly selected library clones. ESTs are widely used to clone genes and/or to elucidate their structures and/or functions. We generated a set of ESTs in Chinese cabbage which is an important vegetable species in Korea. Fifty ESTs were generated from the Chinese cabbage (brassica campetris L. var. pekinensis). Poly A+ RNAs were isolated from 10-day-old seedlings germinated in dark and two cDNA libraries were constructed by employing ZAP-cDNA synthesis system (Stratagene, USA). Then, clones from the libraries were selected randomly and were sequenced by the Sanger method with manual or automated DNA sequencing apparatus. Comparing the ESTs with the coding sequences of the previously reported protein in GenBank or EMBL, significant levels of similarity were found in the amino acids or nucleotide sequences. However, some ESTs showed low level of similarity with the sequences in GenBank or EMBL, which could represent novel genes. Therefore, the reported sequences and cDNA libraries in this study could be utilized to clone more genes in brassica in the future.