Abstract: The research aimed to study the effects of salicylic acid (SA) soaking on α-amylase activity of marrow squash seeds under salt stress. SA soaking of different concentrations, temperatures and time was studied under salt stress, and the soaking conditions were optimized with response surface software. SA soaking effects on α-amylase activity were analyzed. The results showed that soaking temperature had the strongest effect on α-amylase activity, while soaking time had the weakest effect. The optimal concentration of SA was 1.0 mmol/L, the optimal soaking temperature was 30℃, and the optimal soaking time was 18 h in single factor test. The maximum parameter of α-amylase activity optimized by response surface methodology was SA concentration of 1.09 mmol/L, soaking temperature of 28.26℃ and soaking time of 18.94 h. Under this condition, the value of α-amylase activity was 0.264455 mg/(g·FW·min) with 97.98%closeness of the theoretical value. The value of α-amylase activity was the maximum in the optimal soaking condition, indicating that the seed germination of marrow squash in this soaking condition was the best.