The photosynthetic characteristics of leaves were selected as the research objects, and the following indicators were determined respectively: the greatest photosynthetic rate per unit area (A_area), the most photosynthetic rate per unit mass (A_mass), the stomatal conductance (Gs), the water utilization efficiency (WUE), the concentration ratio of intercellular/environmental CO₂ (Ci/Ca), and the transpiration rate (Tr) of 50 common plant species growing on karst hills of Guilin, China. We aim to explore the photosynthetic characteristics' differences among species and their intrinsic relationships and to discuss the photosynthetic physiological characteristics of different plants adapting to karst rocky mountain habitat. The results showed that the average values of A_area, A_mass, Gs, WUE, Ci/Ca and Tr of 50 plant leaves were 8.35 μmol m^-2 s^-1, 110.98 nmol g^-1 s^-1, 0.10 mol m^-2 s^-1, 94.84 μmol/mol, 0.57, and 2.37 mmol m^-2 s^-1, respectively. Analysis of variance showed that there were significant differences between A_area, A_mass, Gs, WUE, Ci/Ca and Tr among different species. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the correlations of the six indicators that characterized the photosynthetic characteristics of 50 common plant leaves were consistent except for the relationships of Ci/Ca, A_area and A_mass, WUE and A_mass were inconsistent, and the correlations between other indicators showed consistency, of which Gs and Ci/Ca were extremely obvious positive correlation. The principal component analysis showed that among the six photosynthetic characteristics indicators, Gs and Ci/Ca might be used as important photosynthetic indicators to reflect the adaptability of karst stone mountain plants in habitats. They mainly represented the physiological status of plants and their sensitivity to water condition and the drought resistance, and at the same time, they also reflected the photosynthetic rate of plant leaves, which might be utilized to measure the physiological and ecological adaptability of plants to karst habitats. The cluster analysis based on Gs and Ci/Ca showed that 50 plants were divided into three categories: namely, medium Gs with higher Ci/Ca type, lower Gs with higher Ci/Ca type, and lower Gs, Ci/Ca type. It can be seen from this study that the adaptation strategies of karst habitat plants in terms of physiology and ecology were mainly reflected on the one hand in the way of resource utilization and on the other hand to resist the adverse external environment, which provides a reference for the subsequent selection of species to accelerate the process of vegetation restoration and succession.