The analysis of the response of plant specific leaf area (SLA) and photosynthetic efficiency to soil salinity is helpful to understand the balance mechanism between photosynthetic product distribution and energy distribution in plant leaves. This study aims to examine the relationship between specific leaf area and photosynthetic efficiency of Phragmites australis in response to the soil salt gradient. The study area is located in Qinwangchuan National Wetland Park (36.47° N, 103.65° E), Gansu Province, China. The range of the selected site with the area of 100 m×100 m is from the edge to the central of the wetland, where the reed is the single dominant species. There are three sample plots set on the basis of the soil salt content. The results showed that with the soil salt content decreased gradually, the height of the wetland community and the ground biomass presented increasing trend correspondingly, while density, photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), and leaf thickness had the opposite trend. Plant height, leaf area, net photosynthetic rate (P < sub>n), transpiration rate (T_r), and water use efficiency (WUE) increased gradually, and the specific leaf area increased at the beginning and decreased afterwards, and leaf dry weight presented opposite trends compared with SLA. From plot I to plot Ⅲ, with the decreasing of the soil salt content, the effective quantum yield of PSⅡ photochemistry (Y(Ⅱ)), the photochemical quenching (Q_P), and the electron transport rate (ETR) firstly reduced then increased. The non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), the quantum yield of regulatory energy dissipation (Y(NPQ)), and the maximum efficiency of photosystem (PS) Ⅱ photochemistry (F_v/F_m) performed the increased-decreased changing trends. The quantum yield of non-regulatory energy dissipation (Y(NO)) showed increase trend. There were highly significantly negative correlation (P < 0.01) between SLA and Y(Ⅱ), and between SLA and ETR among three plots, and the absolute value of SMA slope firstly increased and then decreased. With the soil salinity gradient changes, the reeds species adjusted blade component model timely by changing ETR and Y(Ⅱ) to maximize plant photosynthetic efficiency, which reflected that the special survival strategy and leaf component model of plants in salt marsh wetland.