Understanding the variation of seed germination characteristics of native species along geographic gradients is vital to develop restoration strategies for degraded lands. Rosa soulieana, a native shrub, has a great potential to rehabilitate the vegetation structure and function of the Hengduan mountain region. In order to understand the geographic variation of seed dormancy and germination of this native shrub, we selected 18 Rosa soulieana populations along the dry valleys of four rivers (Minjiang, Daduhe, Yalongjiang, and Jinshajiang) as plots. We recorded 7 environmental parameters: drainage, latitude, longitude, altitude, slope gradient, slope aspect, and height from the river in each plot. Five clumps in each plot were randomly selected for measuring the thickness of pericarp, achene mass and achene vitality. We measured germination parameters of freshly harvested achenes and cold-stratified achenes for 8 weeks of 18 R. soulieana populations. The relationship between germination index, seed characteristics and climatic factors in each plot was also analyzed. The results showed that seeds of all R. soulieana populations have a non-deep physiological dormancy. The germination percentages (GP) and the coefficient of rate of germination (CRG) of freshly harvested achenes varied significantly among 18 populations: from 15.8±5.0% to 82.7±2.3% for GP, and from 2.3±0.2% to 5.3±0.5% for CRG. The GP of freshly harvest seeds significantly differed among drainages. It was ranked as Jinsha drainage > Yalong drainage > Daduhe drainage and Minjiang drainage. The GP and CRG of freshly harvested seeds increased with the altitude of plot seeds collected, indicating a decrease of seed dormancy level with the altitude. Cold stratification of 5 ℃ for 8 weeks significantly improved the GP and CRG, and decreased differences of GP and CRG of seeds collected from different plots. The partial correlation analysis showed that the CRG was positively correlated with pericarp thickness. Annual evaporation was the most important climatic factor influencing germination, and it was positively correlated with the GP and CRG. Annual precipitation was negatively correlated with GP and CRG. The results of this study found an obviously geographic variation in seed dormancy and germination of R. soulieana in the dry valleys of Hengduan mountain region. Achene pericarp and climatic factors, such as annual evaporation and annual precipitation, contribute jointly to the geographic variation in seed dormancy and germination of this rose species.