[Objectives]  Honeybees are a kind of social insect with distinct subfamilies. In the present study, an experiment was performed to investigate the genetic background of Apis cerana cerana workers with different olfactory learning abilities. [Methods]  The subfamilies of two groups of worker bees with different olfactory learning abilities were identified using a microsatellite DNA technique. [Results]  The results indicate that there were no significant subfamilial differences between honeybees with different learning abilities (P>0.05). [Conclusion]  Differences in the olfactory learning ability of honeybees do not reflect subfamilial differences, but may be regulated by other genetic factors.