Wheat is one of the most important crops worldwide. in recent decades, climate changes have complicated the prediction of drought frequency and extent in the Mediterranean basins. more genetic sources are needed for developing new cultivars tolerant to adverse environmental conditions allowing a sustainable increase in wheat production. to identify lines carrying genes for tolerance and adaptation to drought conditions, a core collection of 249 bread wheat Iranian landraces were studied both under dryland conditions during 2016-18 growing seasons. the examined landraces included 197 lines from 5 known geographical regions and a collection of 52 lines with unknown origin. data of phonological, morphological and physiological traits were collected. several statistical methods were employed to uncover the existing variations among the evaluated landraces. considerable variations were detected in the studied collection of landraces for important traits including grain yield, harvest index, thousand kernel weight and earliness, traits that play important role in adaptation to drought conditions. the explored variation may be used in breeding programs aiming to develop new wheat cultivars adapted to severe drought conditions.