In order to improve the survival rate of hardwood cuttings of pecan, the effects of five substrates?on the survival rate of two-year-old hardwood cuttings of pecan and the growth was explored. Five cutting substrates were peat, vermiculite, peat: vermiculite: perlite of 3:4:3 (v/v/v), peat: vermiculite: perlite of 3:5:2 (v/v/v), and peat: vermiculite: perlite of 2:3:5 (v/v/v). The results were as follows. (1) The highest survival rate of pecan cuttings was 88.9% in the substrate of peat: vermiculite: perlite of 3:5:2, while only 63.3% of the survival rate was obtained in peat. Alkali-hydrolyzale nitrogen showed the highest correlation with the cutting survival rate. (2) The highest and lowest chlorophyll contents (5.0 and 3.26 mg·L^-1) were observed in pecan rooted cuttings in peat and vermiculate. The chlorophyll content was significantly related to alkaline-hydrolysis nitrogen. (3) The net photosynthetic?rate increased with an increase of the photosynthetic active radiation and gradually stabilized. The light-inhibition?phenomenon was not obvious. P_max was not significant different among the rooted cuttings in the five substrates. The net photosynthetic rate obviously decreased and the transpiration increased in September compared to that in June. The result suggested that the best substrate for pecan hardwood cutting is the substrate of peat: vermiculite: perlite of 3:5:2. Attentions should be paid to the soil permeability and nitrogen?fertilizer application during the growth period of pecan. The photosynthesis of rooted pecan cuttings changed in different growing seasons.