Abstract: Seed germination rate， stress\|related gene expression and seedling growth rate in tobacco seeds of MS K326 were determined， which produced in different areas with different altitudes. The results indicated that seed germination percent of tobacco from low altitude was the highest at 4th day. After 5th day， there was no significant difference in germination percent of seeds produced from different altitudes. Differences in expression levels of genes involved in multiple stress\|responsive pathways， including antioxidant system， osmotic adjustment and transcription factors were observed at 7th day， and then the difference decreased at 14th day， and there was no significant difference at 21st day. In six production areas， the seedling emergency time were a little different among the tobacco seeds from different altitudes， but the seedling time were the same. Accordingly， the germination percent and stress\|related gene expression of MS K326 seeds， which produced in different altitudes， showed no significant difference after 14 days germination.

Key words: altitude, tobacco seed, germination, gene expression