A system for in vitro clonal propagation has been developed in tea plants. Shoots obtained from primary explants were induced from terminal buds and axillary buds of mature field-grown plants. Cultures were initiated from both types of explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 10% coconut milk (CM), 200 mg l-1 of yeast extract (YE), 1.4 μM indoleacetic acid (IAA) and 17.8 μM benzyladenine (BA). The shoot tips were multiplied on 1/2 strength MS medium containing 10% CM, 2.9 μM IAA and 17.8 μM BA. The larger shoots were separated after multiplication and rooted on 1/2 MS medium supplemented with 11.4 μM ascorbic acid and 34.5 μM indolebutyric acid (IBA). A pretreatment of the plants with an aqueous solution of 493 μM IBA greatly increased the frequency of rooting. More than 60% of the rooted plants have been transferred to soil successfully.