Abstract: To study the effect of soil temperature change on seedling emergence and growth of cotton, a field experiment is conducted and 3 different sowing dates are set up, and then the relationship between soil temperature and cotton growth is investigated. The results showed that at the seedling stage, the fluctuation affected by temperature at 5 cm soil layer was larger than that of 10 cm and 15 cm soil layer, and the ground temperature was relatively higher, with the delay of sowing time, the temperature difference in different soil layers decreased. The seedling could be seen on the 4th-5th days under different sowing time, and they were affected by the accumulated temperature slightly. But with the delay of sowing time, the entering time to seedling growth increased. From the first real leaf to showing one or two buds, there was only 1 day difference between the first and the second sowing time. The interval of leafing became short, but the interval of the second and the third sowing time became long. The plant height of the third sowing time was the tallest, 20 cm higher than that of the other sowing time, and the difference was significant. The difference of plant width and height of the first node was up to 5.5 cm and 5.3 cm, respectively, and the difference increased with the delay of sowing time. The experiment suggests that no matter how the sowing time changes, only the slow-down of the ground temperature change could benefit the seedling emergence and growth of the cotton, and the construction of an ideal structure.