Abstract: Petri dish germination and pot culture experiments were conducted to study the effects of salts (NaCl and Na₂SO₄), alternating temperature (4-30 ℃) and hormone (GA₃) treatments on the seed germination and seedling establishment of Suaeda aralocaspica (Chenopodiaceae), an annual halophyte only distributed in Xinjiang of Northwest China. There existed obvious differences in the dormancy and germination characteristics between the two seed morphs (black and brown) of S. aralocaspica under the stresses of NaCl and Na₂SO₄. The black seeds had a lower germination rate than the brown seeds, were of nondeep physiological dormancy, and their germination rate could be increased after 15/30 ℃ alternating temperature, 30 days of cold stratification at 4 ℃, and 800 mg·L^-1 of GA₃ treatment. Salt and alternating temperature treatments could significantly affect the seedling emergence rate and establishment rate of brown seeds, but had lesser effects on black seeds, indicating that the black seeds could have persistent slow-germination mechanism, being favorable for the formation of persistent seed bank. All the results showed the adaptability of S. aralocaspica to saline environment in early spring.