OBJECTIVE： To study the effects of exogenous abscisic acid （ABA） on salt-alkali tolerance of Scrophularia ningpoensis seedlings， and to provide theoretic evidence for cultivating S. ningpoensis in salt-alkali soil. METHODS： 50 S. ningpoensis seedlings were divided into control group， salt-alkali group （75 mmol/L）， salt-alkali （75 mmol/L）+ABA low-concentration， medium-concentration and high-concentration groups （10， 50， 100 μmol /L）， with 10 plants in each group. 20 days after transplanting， the plants were sprayed with drugs every 4 days. Growth indexes of the plants （length of stem， fresh weight， dry weight， survival rate）， physiological indexes [the contents of chlorophyll， soluble sugar （SS）， soluble protein （SP） and free proline （Pro）]， the contents of MDA and H2O2， the activities of antioxidase [the activities of SOD， POD， CAT， GR] and the contents of Na+ and K+ in stem and root were determined in each group 2 weeks later. RESULTS： Compared with control group， stem height and survival rate of S. ningpoensis seedlings， SP， the contents of Na+ and K+ in the stem， the contents of Na+， CAT and GR in the roots were all decreased significantly in salt-alkali group； while chlorophyll， Pro， MDA and H2O2 contents， the content of K+ in the roots and the activities of SOD and POD were all increased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with salt-alkali group， stem height of S. ningpoensis seedlings， fresh weight and chlorophyll content were increased significantly in salt-alkali+ABA medium-concentration group， while MDA and the content of Na+ in the stem were decreased significantly； dry weight， the contents of SS and SP， the activities of SOD and CAT were increased significantly in salt-alkali+ABA low-concentration and medium-concentration groups， while the SS content was increased in salt-alkali+ABA high-concentration group； stem height and dry weight were decreased significantly in salt-alkali+ABA high-concentration group； Pro content of salt-alkali+ABA low-concentration and high-concentration groups were decreased significantly； H2O2， Na+ content in the roots were decreased significantly in salt-alkali+ABA low-concentration， medium-concentration and high-concentration groups； while GR activity， K+ content in the stem and roots were increased significantly； POD activity were decreased significantly in salt-alkali+ABA medium-concentration and high-concentration groups. CONCLUSIONS： The addition of a certain concentration of exogenous ABA can effectively increase salt-alkali tolerance of S. ningpoensis seedlings and strengthen the ability of the plant adapting to salt-alkali environment.