Two heat-tolerant rice varieties, N5 and TQ, were chosen as test materi- als. Specifically, rice seedlings （leaf age at 2.1）, cultivated in room, were treated at 40 ℃ for 7 d and some indices were measured, including plant height, dry weight, leaf color, proline, malondialdehyde and conductivity. The results showed that high temperature advanced the growth of N5 seedlings, for example, plant height, root length and dry weight of ground parts all increased. However, high temperature prevented TQ seedlings growth, plant height in particular. Furthermore, high temper- ature treatment increased the content of chlorophyll of N5 and had none effects on PSII of N5, with little damages on membrane system. On the other hand, high temperature actually reduced PSII activity of TQ, and seriously damaged TQ mem- brane system. It is speculated that the differences of the two varieties lie on pro- duction or removing capacity of reactive oxide species.
