Abstract: 【Objective】The environmental impacts of salinity are receiving increasing attention. However, the effects of soil salt concentrations on the structure and function of the soil microbial communities remain poorly understood. 【Method】In the present study, using plant growth measurement, soil physicochemical property analysis, PCR-DGGE technology, Shannon index and principle component analysis, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of salinity(i.e., irrigation with 0, 2.9, and 8.8 g/L NaCl solutions)on soil properties, the diversity of soil bacterial communities, and the growth of beach plum(Prunus maritima Marshall)cutting seedlings. 【Result】Neither sprout length or leaf area was significantly affected by the irrigation treatments, whereas the chlorophyll contents first increased then decreased with increasingly salt stress. The rhizosphere contained much more organic matter and total nitrogen than the bulk soil but possessed a significant lower pH. Furthermore, the cation exchange capacity of the rhizosphere soil increased significantly with increasing salinity, and the rhizosphere soil treated with 8.8 g/L NaCl yielded the greatest number of DGGE bands and band grayscales, as well as the highest diversity, richness and evenness indices. Meanwhile, the bulk soil yielded fewer bands and band grayscales, as well as lower diversity, richness and evenness indices. Cluster analysis revealed that the DGGE profiles from the same sampling site(rhizosphere or bulk)clustered together, except control from bulk soil. In addition, there were nine major bands, which were cloned, sequenced, and identified as members of the Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria. Principal component analysis revealed consistent differences in the diversity patterns of the nine major rhizosphere taxa and those of the bulk soil, and the nine major rhizosphere taxa were clustered by genetic relationship. 【Conclusion】The results of the present study suggest that the salt stress-resistance of beach plum is at least partially mediated by its rhizosphere soil microbes, even though high salt concentrations stress the bacterial community of the bulk soil.