[Objectives]  To analyze the feasibility of using DNA barcoding technology to identify tea (Camellia sinensis) plant thrip species in Yunnan, clarify the dominant thrip populations on different parts of tea plants, and monitor the population dynamics of this population in the Lincang tea-growing area. [Methods]  Samples of tea plant thrips in Yunnan were extensively investigated and collected. Mitochondrial COⅠ gene sequences of different species were amplified, and their inter- and intra-specific genetic distances and phylogenetic relationships analyzed. Finally, the five-point sampling method was used to investigate the annual occurrence dynamics of dominant thrip species in the Lincang tea-growing area. [Results]  A total of 3 399 adult thrips specimens were collected, which were classified to 27 species, 19 genera and 3 families. A total of 54 COⅠ gene sequences of 27 species of tea plant thrips were obtained by molecular sequencing. These had a mean interspecific genetic distance of 0.269 2 and a mean intraspecific genetic distance of 0.007 7. There was an obvious barcoding gap between inter- and intra-specific genetic distances. The results of a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis were consistent with the results of morphological identification; each monophyletic branch corresponds to a single species. Most (81.26%) thrips on tea flowers were Lefroyothrips lefroyi, whereas the majority (76.63%) on young shoots were Myctorothrips gongshanensis. Myctorothrips gongshanensis occurs annually in the Lincang tea-growing area and has two annual peaks in abundance, the first from mid-April to mid-May and the second from early September to early October. [Conclusion]  DNA barcoding technology based on the mitochondrial COⅠ gene can rapidly and accurately identify tea plants thrips. The critical period for controlling Myctorothrips gongshanensis in the Lincang tea-growing area is late February and late August when the population begins to increase.