Wild species of cultivated plants carry useful genes which can be used for breeding programs. This research was conducted on safflower in three separate studies during 2010 and 2011. The first study was performed to investigate genetic variation in 46 genotypes from five cultivated and wild species of Carthamus genus and to evaluate their drought tolerance under field conditions. For this purpose genotypes were evaluated under normal and deficit irrigation according to a completely random blocks design. In the second study the hybridization of cultivated species ( C. tinctorius ) and three wild species C. glaucus, C. oxyacanthu and C. palaestinus (direction and reciprocal crosses) were assessed. The F 1 hybrids were confirmed using morphological and SRAP markers. In the third study drought tolerance of three species (including a cultivated species and two wild species of C. palaestinus , C. oxyacanthus ) and F 2 progeny were evaluated in germination and seedling stage using four level of PEG treatments. Results of first study showed that drought stress significantly reduced days to ripening, seed number per head, head diameter, one thousound seed weight, head yield and seed yield per plant. Water stress caused more reductions in the seed yield of cultivated species as compared with wild species. The wild species C. palaestinus had higher head yield per plant, head diameter, head number per plant and seed number per head than other wild species resulting to more seed yield in both moisture conditions. Also the highest oil percent was belonged to this species in both moisture conditions. Results of step wise regresion and path analysis indicated that seed number per head, head number per plant and one thousound seed weight justified more variation of seed yield and can be used for indirect selection of grain yield in safflower breeding programes. Factor analysis revealed four factors which explained more than 82 and 85 percent of variance in non stress and stress conditions, respectively. The importance of identified facors in two moisture environments were different which should be considered in breeding for drought tolerance. Cluster analysis of 46 investigated genotypes based on agro-morphological traits indicated that three species C. tinctorius, C palaestinu and C. oxyacanthus had the most similarity among studied species. Based on drought susceptibility indices (SSI and TOL) three species of C. lanatus, C. oxyacanthus and C. glaucus had the lowest susceptibility. On the other hand drought tolerance indices (MP,GMP and STI) showed that the species C. palaestinus followed by cultivated species had the highest tolerance which was confirmed by principle commponents analysis. Results of the second study indicated that there is high hybridization among C. tinctorius with two species of C. palaestinu, C. oxyacanthus . High hybridization was also observed between the two wild species (C. oxyacanthus , C. palaestinus). In the cross of C. glaucus with C. tinctorius and C. palaestinus no fertile hybrids was observed. Results of the third study using 3 graph and biplot of principle components analysis indicated that wild species ( C. palaestinus and C. oxyacanthus ) and their respective F2 progeny had more drought tolerance in seedling stage which may be due to heterosis. As a whole, in respect to high hybridization of two main safflower relatives specially C. palaestinus ( because high similarity to C. tinctorius species) and their high tolerance to drought stress, they are suitable source for transferring drought tolerance genes to C. tinctorius species. Keywords:Safflowers, wild species, hybridization ,drought stress, droght tolerance index