Abstract: Soil seed bank plays an important role in vegetation restoration of degraded ecosystem. In order to provide scientific basis for the recovery of copper tailing in Liangshan area,a case study was carried out on the soil of a copper tailing in Xichang City. The characteristics of the soil seed bank were studied by the method of seed germination,and compared with the soil seed bank of the adjacent habitat. The results showed that the seed density of the copper mine was 350 grain/m²,which germinated three kinds of plants. The seed density of tailing was375 grain/m²,and the number of Cynodondactylon（ L.） pers. was accounted for the largest proportion in this group. The seed density was 300 grain/m² in adjacent habitat. The Sorensen's coefficient of species between the tailing seed bank with the adjacent habitat seed bank was 0. 400,with the copper mine seed bank was 0. 857,and with the above-ground vegetation was 0. 276. The species diversity index of the soil seed bank in the tailing was low as 1. 116.