Floristic composition of the montane elfin forest in Shimentai Nature Reserve, Guangdong, was analyzed based on community survey data. Field survey indicated that the community was simple in structure and composition, with 57 families of vascular plants including 108 genera and 162 species. Dominant families of the flora were Lauraceae, Theaceae, Rosaceae, Ericaceae, Fagaceae, Rubiaceae and Aquifoliaceae, most of which are tropical-and-subtropical. As for generic distribution, dominant geographical elements were tropical-subtropical genera (68.42%) and temperate genera (27.37%), and most of the floristic elements were tropical-subtropical.