Ma bamboo (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro) belongs to Dendrocalamus genus, Bambusease tribe, Bambusoideae subfamily, Poaceae family. It is a representative species of clumping bamboo, and a principal commercial species for various construction purposes using mature culms and for human consumption using young shoots. A normalized cDNA library was constructed from young leaves of Ma bamboo and 9,574 high-quality ESTs were generated, from which 5,317 unigenes including 1,502 contigs and 3,815 singletons were assembled. The unigenes were assigned into different gene ontology (GO) categories and summarized into 13 broad biologically functional groups according to similar functional characteristics or cellular roles by BLAST search against public databases. Eight hundred and ninety-one unigenes were assigned by KO identifiers and mapped to six KEGG biochemical pathways. The transcripts involved in biosynthesis of secondary metabolites such as cytochrome 450, flavonol synthase/flavanone 3-hydroxylase, and dihydroflavonol-4-reductase were well represented by 14 unigenes in the unigene set. The candidate genes involved in phytohormone metabolism, signal transduction and encoding cell wall-associated receptor kinases were also identified. Sixty-seven unigenes related to plant resistance (R) genes, including RPP genes, RGAs and RDL/RF genes, were discovered. These results will provide genome-wide knowledge about the molecular physiology of Ma bamboo young leaves and tools for advanced studies of molecular mechanism underlying leaf growth and development.