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<i>Cyclocarya paliurus</i>, native to China, is a medicinal and edible plant with important health benefits. Anthracnose is an emerging disease in southern China that causes severe economic losses and poses a great threat to the <i>C. paliurus</i> tea industry. However, to date, the species diversity of pathogens causing <i>C. paliurus</i> anthracnose has remained limited. From 2018 to 2022, a total of 331 <i>Colletotrichum</i> isolates were recovered from symptomatic leaves in eight major <i>C. paliurus</i> planting provinces of southern China. Phylogenetic analyses based on nine loci (ITS, <i>GAPDH</i>, <i>ACT</i>, <i>CHS-1</i>, <i>TUB</i>, <i>CAL</i>, <i>HIS3</i>, <i>GS</i> and <i>ApMat</i>) coupled with phenotypic characteristics revealed that 43 representative isolates belonged to seven known <i>Colletotrichum</i> species, including <i>C. brevisporum</i>, <i>C. fructicola</i>, <i>C. gloeosporioides</i> sensu stricto, <i>C. godetiae</i>, <i>C. nymphaeae</i>, <i>C. plurivorum</i> and <i>C. sojae</i>. Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that all species described above were pathogenic to wounding detached leaves of <i>C. paliurus</i>, with <i>C. fructicola</i> being the most aggressive species. However, <i>C. brevisporum</i>, <i>C. plurivorum</i> and <i>C. sojae</i> were not pathogenic to the intact plant of <i>C. paliurus</i>. These findings reveal the remarkable species diversity involved in <i>C. paliurus</i> anthracnose and will facilitate further studies on implementing effective control of <i>C. paliurus</i> anthracnose in China.