Growth parameters of field-grown seedlings of 19 Magnolia officinalis provenances were successively measured and comprehensively analyzed in this study.The results show that there are extremely significant difference among provenances in seedling height,basal diameter,root dry weight,root/shoot ratio and water content.The growth patterns of height and basal diameter can be fitted by "S" curves and can be simulated with Logistic equations.Prosperous phases for seedling growth are from July to September,during which 77.7% of seedling height and 50.0% of basal diameter in the whole one year are achieved. Two-way geographic variation in latitude and longitude is observed in the seedling stage.By analyzing the correlation of biomass with seedling height and basal diameter,the authors find that seedling height shows a significantly positive correlation with shoot dry weight and shoot fresh weight,while biomass and basal diameter are significantly correlative.Five superior provenances, including Daoxian,Jianghua,Anhua,Rongshui and Qianshan are selected according to cluster analysis and their growth performance.