Pot and solution culture experiments were conducted to study the mechanism of phosphorus-zinc interaction in brewer's barley grown on calcareous soils. The results showed that the effect of Zn supply on the yield depended on the available Zn concentration and P/Zn ratio in soil; high rate of phosphorus did not affect the available Zn concentration in soil and the Zn application did not affect the available P concentration in soil, either; Zn-efieency increased P concentration in shoots but decreased P concentration in roots; and Zn-deficiency inereaaed membrane permeability, which enhanced P uptake and translocation from roots to shoots.