is a specific small freshwater demersal fish, which is widely distributed in the water systems of the Yangtze River and its northern rivers, as well as the rivers of Henan Province. To assess the current situation of germplasm resources and genetic diversity, 77 samples were collected from the basins of the Yellow River, Yangtze River, Huaihe River, and Haihe River in Henan Province. We analyzed the population genetic diversity and differentiation of the species using the mitochondrial COI gene. In this study, we amplified the partial mitochondrial COI gene sequences of 77 individuals from 10 populations (PH, BSH, HZH, TRQ, MJH, XLSSK, HXC, YH, QH, and WH). The results showed an average haplotype diversity of 0.89088 and average nucleotide diversity of 0.00361 in all populations, with a maximum and minimum in the HXC and NJH populations, respectively. AMOVA analysis showed that the genetic differentiation of mainly occurred within the population variation, with 78.43% genetic variation within populations. The results of phylogenetic tree and network of haplotypes suggested that did not form from a significant geographic cluster. Similarly, the results of SAMOVA support the phylogenetic tree and network of haplotypes when not using grouping in advance. Demographic history analysis showed that the 10 populations experienced rapid population growth and have maintained an upward trend. Fu's value and mismatch nucleotide analysis revealed that a recent population expansion had occurred in populations, the process for which may be related to the climate changing to warm and humid.