Abstract: With early-maturing cotton cultivar CCRI-50 widely grown in China as experimental material, water culture experiment was conducted to study the effects of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and phloroglucinol with different concentrations (0.8, 4.0, and 20.0 mmol·L^-1) on generation rate of reactive oxygen, changes of antioxidant enzyme activities and mitochondria function of cotton roots. Results showed that p-hydroxybenzoic acid and phloroglucinol treatments inhibited the cotton root growth, reduced SOD, POD, CAT and H⁺-ATPase activities in root mitochondria, increased the generation rate of O₂^{-· and H₂O₂ content. In addition, they also increased the opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pores (MPTP), decreased the membrane fluidity and cytochrome c/a (Cyt c/a). Difference of mitochondria function between p-hydroxybenzoic acid and phloroglucinol treatments was minor at concentration of 0.8 mmol·L-1, while the inhibition to root growth and mitochondria function under treatment of p-hydroxybenzoic acid at concentration of 4.0 and 20.0 mmol·L-1 was stronger than that of phloroglucinol. Above all, p-hydroxybenzoic acid and phloroglucinol inhibited antioxidant enzyme activity and mitochondrial function in cotton seedling roots, and the inhibition depended on dose of phenolic acids. The inhibition to root growth and mitochondria function between p-hydroxybenzoic acid and phloroglucinol treatment was different, and p-hydroxybenzoic acid had stronger inhibition than phloroglucinol at the concentration more than 4.0 mmol·L-1.}