Fertilizer application efficiently increases crop yield, but may result in phosphorus(P) accumulation in soil, which increases the risk of aquatic eutrophication. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF) inoculation is a potential method to enhance P uptake by plant and to reduce fertilizer input requirements. However, there has been limited research on how much P application could be reduced by AMF inoculation. In this study, a pot experiment growing asparagus(Asparagus officinalis L.) was designed to investigate the effects of AMF inoculation and six levels of soil Olsen-P(10.4, 17.1, 30.9, 40.0, 62.1, and 95.5 mg kg-1for P0, P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5treatments, respectively) on root colonization, soil spore density, and the growth and P uptake of asparagus. The highest root colonization and soil spore density were both obtained in the P1treatment(76% and 26.3 spores g-1soil, respectively). Mycorrhizal dependency significantly(P < 0.05) decreased with increasing soil Olsen-P. A significant correlation(P < 0.01) was observed between mycorrhizal P uptake and root colonization, indicating that AMF contributed to increased P uptake and subsequent plant growth.The quadratic equations of shoot dry weight and soil Olsen-P showed that AMF decreased the P concentration of soil required for maximum plant growth by 14.5% from 67.9 to 59.3 mg Olsen-P kg-1. Our results suggested that AMF improved P efficiency via increased P uptake and optimal growth by adding AMF to the suitable P fertilization. Fertilizer applicationfficient increases crop yield, but may result in phosphorus (P) accumulation in soil, which increases the risk of aquatic eutrophication. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation is a potential method to enhance P uptake by plant and to reduce fertilizer input requirements However, there has been limited research on how much P application could be reduced by AMF inoculation. In this study, a pot experiment growing asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) was designed to investigate the effects of AMF inoculation and six levels of soil Olsen -P (10.4, 17.1, 30.9, 40.0, 62.1, and 95.5 mg kg-1 for P0, P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5treatments, respectively) on root colonization, soil spore density, and the growth and P uptake of asparagus. The highest root colonization and soil spore density were both obtained in the P1treatment (76% and 26.3 spores g-1soil, respectively). Mycorrhizal dependency significantly (P <0.05) decreased with increasing soil Olsen-P. A significant corr elation (P <0.01) was observed between mycorrhizal P uptake and root colonization, indicating that AMF contributed to increased P uptake and subsequent plant growth. The quadratic equations of shoot dry weight and soil Olsen-P showed that AMF decreased the P concentration of soil required for maximum plant growth by 14.5% from 67.9 to 59.3 mg Olsen-P kg-1. Our results suggested that AMF improved P efficiency via increased P uptake and optimal growth by adding AMF to the suitable P fertilization.