In order to conserve and restore an ancient ship from Banjing River in Taicang, and also to understand the process of its building, we examined 31 samples of wood taken from the hull keel, bulkhead, tank floor, side plate, stern baffle, diagonal bracing wood, reinforcing material, sill and fender of the ship. The results show that the timbers used in this ancient ship are of five species: Cunninghamia lanceolata, Pinus massoniana, Cinnamomum camphora, Liquidambar formosana and Cupressus funebris. These tree species grow widely in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The timbers were locally sourced and are suitable for the hull.