Aloe, a typical xerophyte, is of important value in medicine and therapeutics, cosmetics, food industry, land-scape and ornamental hort iculture.According to biological characteristics, aloe belongs to a glycophyte rather than a halophyte.So far, available information on response of aloe to salt stress is little.In this study several aspects embodying salt resistant ability were studied with seven-leaf old Aloe vera cultured in sand for 120 days.Experimental results show that growth of aloe was closely correlated with salt concentration in irrigated nutrient solution.The treatment of 200 mmol L^-1 NaCl significantly retarded growth of aloe, reducing elongation dynamics, length, width, thickness, weight, water content, and chlorophyll content of its leaves, perimeter of the root system, dense radicel zone, biomass of different organs and a single plant, but increasing the number of withered leaves, which were even more remarkable when sodium chloride concentration reached to 400 mmol L^-1.However, the negative effects of salt stress on aloe growth were not very marked when sodium chloride concentration was less than 100 mmol L^-1 as was compared with C the control K, no NaCl added into irrigated solution, especially when the concentration of NaCl was 50 mmol L^-1.The effects of salt stresses between 50 and 100 mmol L^-1 NaCl treatments on physica-l chemical properties of aloe leaf juice, such as rate of leaf juice, soluble solids content, rotation viscosity, relat ive density, absorbance, electrical conductivity, pH value, ash percentage, total carbohydrate content and polysac-charide content were not significant.Both of the treatments produced active effects on physical-chemical properties.Based on these results, considering absorption of salt by soils, washing of rain and snow, and effect of ground water, Aloe vera is suitable to be irrigated with brine or weakly brine water.