Abstract: In this paper we consider the generalized quasilinear Schrödinger equations − div ( g 2 ( u ) ∇ u ) + g ( u ) g ′ ( u ) | ∇ u | 2 + V ( x ) u = h ( x , u ) , x ∈ R N , where V and h are periodic in x i , 1 ⩽ i ⩽ N . By using variational methods, we prove the existence of ground state solutions, i.e., nontrivial solutions with least possible energy.