Abstract: During October and November 2018, seeds were collected from 12 plus families of Semiliquidambar cathayensis in Jiangxi province. In May 2019, seedling cultivation was carried out in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, and determinations were implemented on seedling height and ground diameter in February 2020. The results showed that there were significant differences in seedling height and ground diameter among different families. The largest seedling height was 72.04 cm, 7.91% higher than the average one, and the largest ground diameter was 0.85 cm, 19.72% higher than the average one. There was no significant linear positive correlation between seedling height and ground diameter. Single growth indicator could not be the representation for selection of plus tree family. 12 tested families were clustered into 4 groups by Ward clustering method with seedling height and ground diameter. Three superior tree families were preliminarily selected, with their mean seedling height and ground diameter 69.23 cm and 0.74 cm, and Vi values of 0.022 9 and 0.036 2.