Development of transgenic plants with tolerance to environ-mental stress is an important goal of plant biotechnology. Late-embryogenesis-abundant (LEA) proteins accumulate in seeds dur-ing late embryogenesis, where they protect cellular membranes and macromolecules against drought. In this work, we transferred the Tamarix androssowii LEA gene into hybrids of Populus davidiana×P. bolleana. We compared relative rates of height growth, chlorophyll fluo-rescence kinetic parameters, and leaf Na+ levels of six TaLEA-containing lines with non-transferred plants (NT), all grown under 0.8% NaCl stress condition. Survival percentages of transgenic lines were all higher than for NT controls after rehydration and the sur-vival percentage of SL2 was five-fold higher than for NT controls. Seed-ling height increased 48.7%in SL2 (from the onset of induced stress to the end of the growing season), 31% more than for the NT controls. Chlorophyll fluorescence kinetic parameters showed a marked increase in photosynthetic capacity in SL2 and SL5. Na+levels in young leaves of transgenic lines were lower than in control NT leaves, but higher in yel-low and withered leaves, indicating improved salt tolerance in transgenic lines.