From 2014 to 2016,956 fecal samples from wildfowls were collectedto monitor H5avian influ-enza virus (AIV) in northern China.Two AIV isolates,namely,A/wildfowl/China/472/15 ( H5N2) and A/wild-fowl/China/421/16( H5N1) were detected by using chicken embryo inoculation and RT-PCR.A positive isolation rate of 0.21% was achieved.According to the analysis of hemagglutinin (HA) cleavage sites and detection of in-travenous pathogenicity index (IVPI),isolate 421 was virulent whereas isolate 472 was avirulent and lacks four a-mino acids (343-RRKR-346) in the HA cleavage site.Isolates 472 (H5N2)and421 (H5N1) were determined as members of Eurasian lineage 7.2 clade according to the phylogenetic tree of amino acids encoded by the HA gene.Most of the strains in this branch were recently isolated from poultries in surrounding areas in northern China and exhibited high virulence and fatality rate.In terms of neuraminidase (NA) gene,isolate 472 and H5N2 AIVs(named Laiwu0313 and Chiping0321,respectively) were identified and classified as recombinant strains belonging to the Asian N2 clade.The viruses carried by wildfowls have a closer relationship with those isolated from poultries of surrounding areas.As the carrier and host of AIVs,wildfowls provide beneficial conditions for viral storage,propagation,and reassortment of AIVs.