Abstract The Zingiberales is an ancient monocot order in the angiosperms. It has undergone radiation since the Cretaceous period. However, the relationships among primary lineages (families) are difficult to resolve. Additional support for phylogenetic relationships within this order have been obtained using plastid genome data from 76 coding genes and 4 rDNA loci from 17 species represented eight families. We reconstructed ancestral geographic areas using the Bayesian Binary Markov Chain Monte Carlo (BMM) method. These analyses indicated several major radiations of Zingiberales occurring in Africa, Neotropical America and Australia.