We consider a sequence of polynomial trials with Ν outcomes and construct the multivariate statistic χ 2 with the use of samples of growing sizes n\,... ,Λ Γ , 1 < n\ < ... < n r , r > 2, such that each subsequent sample contains the previous one. We assume that N is fixed, n\ -> <», and rt//n f +i -* p?, 0 < p,· < 1, / = 1,... ,r-1.For fixed (not close) alternatives to a simple hypothesis tested, we establish the weak convergence of the distribution of the vector statistic χ 2 , whose components are appropriately centered and normalized, to multivariate normal and chi-square laws. In the case of convergence to the normal law, the components of the limiting normal random vector form a non-homogeneous Markov chain; the densities of transition probabilities of this chain are found.This research was supported by the Russian Fiundation for Basic Research, grants 96-01-00531, 96-15-96092.