Twenty-two chromosome counts are reported in 16 species, four subspecies and two varieties of the genus Centaurea. These are mostly Turkish local endemics of section Cheirolepis, a complicated group from the Eastern clade of the Jacea group. Twenty-one reports are new. Prevalence of the basic chromosome number x = 9 among the eastern sections of the Jacea group is confirmed. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London.