[Objectives]  Galeruca daurica (Joannis) is a new pest which has had a serious impact on Inner Mongolian grasslands in recent years. We investigated microsatellite sequences from its high-throughput transcriptome database, analyzed microsatellite loci information, and developed microsatellite primers in order to make an essential foundation for further study of the genetic diversity and differentiation of G. daurica populations. [Methods]  We used the software MISA to search for microsatellite sequences among 72 352 unigenes of the G. daurica transcriptome database. [Results]  3 880 microsatellite loci distributed in 3 277 unigenes were identified. The main repeat types were mono-nucleotide repeats (80.85%), followed by tri-nucleotide repeats (11.08%) and finally bi-nucleotide repeats (7.37%). The A/T motif was the most abundant (77.75%) in mono-nucleotide repeats. Based on identified microsatellite sequences, 2 160 pairs of primers were designed from 1 814 unigenes, 10 pairs of which were randomly selected and used to amplify the G. daurica DNA. All 10 pairs of primers could amplify the target DNA fragments. [Conclusion]  It is feasible to develop microsatellite primers from the G. daurica transcriptome. The primers developed here provide an essential foundation for studying the population genetics and functional genomics of G. daurica.