<p>Cattle are domesticated in many parts of the world for its high potential of beef and dairy production and availability for draught. There are many cattle breeds used for various purposes and adapted to different environments. Effective management of genetic resources originated from various cattle breeds would ensure improvement of breeds, enabling to meet demand of future livestock farming. In this study, 17 microsatellite markers were used to determine genetic diversity and relationship among local populations of Korean cattle and Holstein cattle reared in DPR Korea. 5 cattle populations showed heterozygosity ranging from 0.62 to 0.71, number of alleles per locus being 8.87 to 10.89, allelic richness ranging from 7.65 to 9.85, Nei’s genetic diversity being 0.47 to 0.76, inbreeding coefficient ranging from 0.001 to 0.023 and number of private alleles being 2 to 4. UPGMA dendrogram divided 5 populations into 2 clusters at the genetic distance of 0.35, consistent with the classification according to origin. This was supported by the PCA and STRUCTURE analysis. Bayesian cluster analysis using STRUCTURE revealed genetic distinctness of Korean and Holstein cattle and some degree of genetic differentiation between 5 populations, suggesting that these different local populations of Korean and Holstein cattle exhibit value of genetic resources which can be improved by crossbreeding. Microsatellite markers used in this study would contribute to improvement of adaptability and productivity of cattle breeds, enabling efficient conservation and utilization of genetic resources.</p>