Though the Loess Plateau dryland region in northern Shanxi is a key oat-producing area in China， its forage productivity remains low due to limited rainfall and a lack of suitable oat varieties. To identify high-quality， high-yield forage oat （Avena sativa） cultivars， we evaluated 38 widely promoted domestic and imported varieties， assessing their growth periods， agronomic traits， yields， and nutritional quality. The results showed that there was significant variation in maturity time （86-127 days）， with late-maturing types predominating （21/38）. ‘Molasses’ and ‘Tianyan No.3’ achieved the highest fresh （27 100 and 23 500 kg·hm^-2） and dry forage yields （11 700 and 11 500 kg·hm^-2）. Five cultivars-including ‘Magnum’-had the highest soluble sugar content （16.4%-18.1%）， while ‘Shooter’‘Longyan No.2’ and ‘Longyan No.1’ had the greatest crude protein content （8.7%-8.8%）. Seventeen varieties exhibited premium forage quality， with Relative Forage Value values of 113.7-126.1. Based on the “Quality Classification of Oat Hay” standard， 13 cultivars were classified as Type A hay and 9 as Type B （all Grade III）. Overall， ‘Molasses’ ‘Magnum’ ‘Tianyan No.3’ ‘Jiayan No.2，’ and ‘Monida’ demonstrated superior performance and are recommended for priority adoption in eastern dryland areas of northern Shanxi’s Loess Plateau.

Oat （Avena sativa）  /  Growth period  /  Production performance  /  Nutritional quality  /  Cluster analysis  /  Membership function