Switchgrass(Panicum virgatum)can be widely used for vegetation improvement in salinized areas. In this experiment,switchgrass Alamo(lowland type)and Blackwell-1(upland type)were used as materials to explore the effects of saline alkali stress on the antioxidant and osmotic regulation of switchgrass by using Na2CO3 solution (salt stress)with concentration of 60 mmol/L and three different alkalinity NaOH solutions,namely pH 7. 0(CK,no stress),8. 0 and 9. 0. The results showed that:(1)Under saline alkali stress,the content of photosynthetic pigment of switchgrass decreased with the increase of stress time,and decreased significantly at the last sampling(P<0. 05), and the synthesis of photosynthetic pigment of switchgrass was affected.(2)The relative water content,electrical conductivity and malondialdehyde(MDA)content of switchgrass increased first and then decreased with the increase of stress time under saline alkali stress.(3)The contents of ascorbic acid peroxidase(APX),catalase(CAT)and peroxidase(POD)of switchgrass increased significantly under saline alkali stress(P<0. 05),which played an impor- tant role in maintaining the normal growth of switchgrass.(4)Under saline alkali stress,the soluble protein content of switchgrass increased,but there was no significant difference(P>0. 05),and the soluble sugar content showed sig- nificant difference(P<0. 05). The soluble protein content of Alamo was lower than that of Blackwell-1,but the in- crease of soluble sugar content was higher than that of Blackwell- 1,which may indicate that the change of soluble sugar content can reflect the salt and alkaline tolerance better. In conclusion,the membrane permeability,antioxidant enzyme and osmotic substance content of switchgrass increased under saline alkali stress. Only under salt stress condi- tions,the contents of chlorophyll b,carotenoid,relative water content,APX and soluble protein in Alamo at the fourth sampling were higher than those at the first sampling,while the changes of Blackwell-1 were opposite. Only under al- kali stress,Alamo could maintain higher photosynthetic pigment content,relative water content,antioxidant enzyme and soluble sugar content. These results indicated that the switchgrass species Alamo and Blackwell-1 had certain sa- line-alkali tolerance,and Alamo was more salt tolerant than Blackwell-1 in antioxidant and osmotic regulation.