Seed germination and seedling establishment of eelgrass Zostera marina L. exposed to acupuncture, acid, drug, hormone, low salinity, fluctuating temperature, and low temperature stratification were studied under controlled laboratory conditions. Results showed that, after 30 d of seed germination, low salinity had a significant effect on the seed germination of Z. marina (P<0.05). The germination rate and germination index (GI) of seeds under the salinity of 25 were 36.3 times and 58.9 times as high as those of seeds from the control group (0.67% and 0.07), while the mean timetogerminate (MTG) was lowered down to 9.3 d. Seed germination rate and GI gradually increased as salinity decreased, whereas an opposite trend was observed in MTG. In addition, acupuncture significantly promoted seed germination, as the germination rate and GI of the seeds in this treatment were 26.9  and 42.7 times as high as those of the seeds in the control group, whereas MTG was lowered down to 12.6 d. However, seed germination was not significantly affected by acid, hormone, drug, fluctuating temperature, and lowtemperature stratification. By contrast, the establishment rate of seedgenerated seedlings was significantly higher in the lowsalinity treatments (with salinity of 10-25) than in the control treatment. However, no obvious difference in morphology was found between these treatments. The seedgenerated seedlings in the acupuncture treatment all died at the end of the experiment (30 d). The results indicated that low salinity could promote Z. marina seed germination, and the optimum salinity range for rapid seed germination is from 10 to 25.