The genus Alpinia is a rather big genus in the world which consists of 250 species. distributed in trpical and subtropical regions of Asia, Australia, Pacific islands. In Vietnam there are 31 species of Alpinia. The main morphological characteristic of the genus Alpinia: Inflorescences are always on the top of leaved stems. Parts of many species of Alpinia have been used as traditional medicine. The Central Highlands of Vietnam is a distribution center of the Alpinia. There are 10 species of Alpinia found in this region, occupying 62.5 percent of the species of Alpinia which are used as medicinal plants in Vietnam. The parts of Alpinia have been used for medicine including rhizomes. leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds. The characteristics used to identify these plants, biological and ecological information and the distribution of Alpinia are covered in this paper.