Phellodendron amurense was inoculated with four species of VA mycorrhizal(VAM) fungi under the pot condition, and the effects of VAM on the growth, root activity, nutrient uptake, photosynthetic characteristics, water metabolism and alkaloid content of annual seedlings were studied .The results showed that VAM significantly increased the growth and metabolism of Ph. amurense. VAM could obviously promote the growth of seedlings of Ph. amurense, and the height, basal diameter and main root length of seedling infected by mycorrhizal fungi were significantly bigger than those of the control seedlings. The root activity and nutrient uptake of Ph. amurense seedling were also increased. After inoculation the seedling with G.mosseae and G.diaphanum, the sapling height exceeded 20 cm and the root activity increased by 2.5-2.7 times compared with the control group. After VAM was formed, the nutritional contents of the leaves were increased at different levels, which obviously improved the photosynthesis characteristics of the seedlings, and further promoted the growth and metabolism of the whole plant. Inoculated with G.diaphanum, the seedling photosynthesis was 12.23 μmol·m^-2·s^-1 _。