BackgroundRetinitis pigmentosa is a group of rare hereditary retinal dystrophy diseases that lead to difficulty seeing at night, progressive loss of peripheral field vision (tunnel vision), and eventual loss of central vision. However, a genetic cause cannot be determined in approximately 60% of cases.Case presentationTwo non-consanguineous Yi minority ethnic group families who have a 6.4-year-old boy and a 0.5-year-old boy, respectively, were recruited for genetic diagnosis. Here, we used whole-exome sequencing to detect mutations in the genes of the probands of the retinitis pigmentosa families, and Sanger sequencing to confirm the causal mutations identified by whole exome sequencing. In addition, we report two cases with retinitis pigmentosa caused byRDH12(c.524C > T) andPRPF4(c.1273G > A) pathogenic mutations.ConclusionsThese results might extend the mutation spectrum of known retinitis pigmentosa genes and give these two Yi minority ethnic group families from Yunnan more precise genetic counseling and more specific prognoses.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13256-023-03830-3.