Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) constitute a rapid and informative strategy for studying gene-expression profiles of specific stages of annual and perennial plant species. Compared with annual plants, the NCBI database has very little sequence information from perennial plant species. To date, only ∼145 ESTs of Vitis pseudoreticulata W.T. Wang have been deposited in databases. This is insufficient to understand the biology and development of this species. In this report, a cDNA library constructed from young leaf inoculated with powdery mildew pathogen [Uncinula necator (Schw.) Burr.] of Chinese wild Vitis pseudoreticulata. Leaf was harvested at various times after inoculation for total RNA extraction, which was used to generate ESTs. In our study, 107 cDNA clones were sequenced either from 5' or 3' end of the cDNAs. Among them, 60 unigenes (56%) were functionally characterized by the BLASTX matches to known function proteins, and 20 unigenes (18.6 %) matched significantly with those having unknown function in the public databases. The remaining 27 unigenes (25.2%) failed to show significant homology to any proteins in the public databases, suggesting that they represent novel sequences. Some functional genes identified from the cDNA library to be potentially associated with plant defence-related responses are discussed.