In a study of diatom collections from the South China Sea,we came across some centric diatoms with weakly silicified wall and very fine surface ornamentation. A cetailed study of their microstrueture by means of the phase contrast microscope and electron microscope shows that they may be classified into five hitherto undescribed species,namely: 1.Coscinodiscus minutifasciculatus sp nov. 2.Coscinodiscus tenuithecus sp. nov. 3.Coscinodiscus shantouensis sp nov. 4.Coscinodiscus hainanensis sp. nov. 5.Coscinodiscus planithecus sp. nov. Their distinctive morphological characters as brought out by the phase contrast microscope and the electron microscope are deseribed in detail.