ERF (ethylene response factor) transcription factor plays a critical role in response to environmental stress and hormonal signal transduction in plants.To elucidate the function of ERF gene in Prunus mume,the PmERF4 gene was cloned from a Prunus mume ‘Xuemei’ by RTPCR.The fulllength cDNA sequence of PmERF4 was 842 bp with an open reading frame (ORF) of 690 bp,encoding 229 amino acids.The deduced amino acid sequence alignment of PmERF4 contained a conserved AP2/ERF domain.The result of phylogenetic analysis showed the PmERF4 was highly homologous to other proteins in Prunus genus.qRTPCR was conducted to examine the expression patterns of PmERF4 under abiotic stress and hormone treatment.The results showed that PmERF4 was induced by cold and H2O2 stress.The induction levels of the gene were different between cold and H2O2 stress.A continuous and strong response of PmERF4 was triggered by cold.PmERF4 was insensitive to mannitol,MeJA and SA treatment and its expression was inhibited by NaCl and ABA.It is indicated that PmERF4 from Prunus mume may be involved in response to cold and H2O2 stress.