Owning to the vast territory, complicated geography and diverse climate, there are abundant soybean germplasm resources in Gansu province. However, classification on the maturity groups (MGs) of soybean varieties remained elusive restricting its use of elite varieties in farming. In this study, 151 soybean cultivars collected from major soybean planting regions across Gansu province and 25 MG 0-V reference varieties introduced from North America were planted at five locations with different ecological regions to evaluate their growth period traits and identify the MGs. The results showed that MGs of soybean varieties from Gansu province ranged from MG 00 to MG VI. MG IV accounted for 44.37% of all the tested varieties, followed by MG V (29.14%), MG III (11.26%), MG II (4.64%), MG 0 (3.31%), MG VI (3.31%), MG 00 (2.65%) and MG I (1.32%). MG III varieties were mainly distributed in Hexi Corridor (HC) occupying 47.62% of varieties in the collection from this region. MG IV varieties were well adapted to the local climate at the Central area of Gansu (CG) and Loess plateau of east Gansu (LP), accounting for 56.67% and 63.83% of the varieties collected from the two regions, respectively. MG V varieties were mainly distributed in the Southern Gansu (SG), which accounted for 63.83% of the local varieties. Based on the regression equation of the MG, longitude and frost-free period of the latest soybean varieties in different areas in Guansu province, we proposed the geographical locations where soybean varieties with different maturation period were adapted. A suggestion for soybean variety introduction was also proposed, which provides a scientific base for soybean breeding and regional planning of varieties in Gansu province.