Abstract: The plant morphogenesis and photosynthetic characteristics of potted Lauraceae obtusiloba were studied under different shade treatments. Fifty percent shading improved the growth and accelerated the morphological building of L. obtusiloba, and the synthetical evaluation of the growth index reached 0.91. Under natural sunlight and 95% shading, the growth indexes were 0.29 and 0.20 respectively. Under different shading treatments, the total chlorophyll content, chlorophyll a content and chlorophyll a/b showed significant differences, but there was no obvious linear relationship with light intensity. The chlorophyll b content increased gradually with the extent of shading. Under different shading treatments, the diurnal change curves of Pn varied significantly, but there was no significant linear relationship with the biomass. With adequate illumination, the diurnal change curve of Pn showed double peaks, and the photosynthesis had a significant midday depression. The light compensation point of L. obtusiloba was 12.98 μmol/(m²·s), the light saturation point was about 200-400 μmol/(m²·s), and the apparent quantum efficiency was 0.0366 mol/mol, which showed the capability of L. obtusiloba to use weak light.