In seismic waveform inversion, selecting an optimal multi-parameter group is a key step to derive an accurate subsurface model for characterising hydrocarbon reservoirs. There are three parameterizations for the horizontal transverse isotropic (HTI) media, and each parameterization consists of five parameters. The first parameterization (P-I) consists of two velocities and three anisotropy parameters, the second (P-II) consists of five elastic coefficients and the third (P-III) consists of five velocity parameters. The radiation patterns of these three parameterizations indicate a strong interference among five parameters. An effective inversion strategy is a two-stage scheme that first inverts for the velocities or velocity-related parameters and then inverts for all five parameters simultaneously. The inversion results clearly demonstrate that P-I is the best parameterization for seismic waveform inversion in HTI anisotropic media.