Small burnet (Sanguisorba minor Scop.) is a highly desirable forb for livestock and wildlife, however, germplasm for commercial use is limited.  The objective was to characterize all available germplasm for ploidy level in preparation for initiating a breeding program in small burnet. A Partec ploidy analyzer was used to characterize 98 accessions from the NPGS and five lines from the Great Basin Research Station in Ephraim, Utah.  The ploidy level was determined on three plants from each accession.  When multiple ploidy levels were found in an accession an additional three plants were tested.  Of the 103 lines tested 81 were tetraploid and 13 diploid and 9 had multiple ploidy levels.  Plants from diploid accessions were much smaller and less vigorous than most tetraploids and less desirable for use in a breeding program. Though some tetraploid types were similar in their vigor and growth characteristics to the diploid plants, tetraploid represented the greatest opportunity for use in establishing a breeding program.