The chlorophyll fluorescence quenching in leaves of wildtype (WT) and three nuclear mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana including npq₁ (lutein-replete and violaxanthin deepoxidase-deficient), lut₂ (lutein-deficient) and lut₂-npq₁ (double mutant) under high light condition was characterized. There was no obvious difference in ratio of Chl a/b between mutants and wildtype, while F_v/F_m in mutants increased to some extents. The total xanthophyll pool (V+A+Z) increased significantly in lutein-deficient mutants (lut₂ and lut₂-npq₁). The NPQ induction by high light was markedly inhibited in lut₂-npq₁ and npq₁, but showed less inhibition in lut₂. The trend of NPQ value in mutants and WT exposed to PPFD during high light illumination of 2 000 μmol·m^-2·s^-1 for 1～9 min was WT＞lut₂＞npq₁＞lut₂-npq₁. qP in all three mutants decreased in comparison with wildtype. Three xanthophyll-dificient mutants exhibited less resistance to photoinhibition than the WT. The sequence of tolerance to photoinhibition was the same as the changes in NPQ among WT and mutants (WT＞lut₂＞npq₁＞lut₂-npq₁). The results indicated that xanthophyll cycle was related not only directly to NPQ formation, but also to qP.