The leaf functional traits of plants not only reflect their abilities to use resources, but also represent their adaptation strategies to structural and environmental changes. Therefore, leaf functional traits are critical indicators of biogeochemical coupling in terrestrial ecosystems. In the present study, Bombax ceiba Linnaeus at different growth stages was taken as the main research subject, five main tree shape factors (i.e., height and crown breadth) were measured, and 14 leaf functional traits were quantified, including leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content and leaf water content. We conducted the research in Menglun Town, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture in December 2019. We analyzed the changing patterns and mutual relations at different growth stages, and explored the responses of leaf functional traits to tree structure based on a variety of statistical analysis methods (i.e., One-way analysis of variance and multiple linear stepwise regression analysis). The results showed that leaf functional traits of Bombax ceiba Linnaeus differed in different growth periods (from primary growth stage to tertiary growth stage)(P<0.05), although they were also correlated certainly (P<0.05,P<0.01). Principal component analysis showed that leaf area, leaf length, leaf width, leaf perimeter, leaf fresh weight, leaf saturated weight, leaf dry weight, leaf mass per area, and leaf dry matter content were the main indicators with the increasing growth stage. The pattern of leaf functional traits was affected by various tree factors, which formed the best functional combination through the functional coordination among multiple characters so that plants could well adapt to environmental changes. We found that leaf area was mainly affected by the crown breadth. The leaf fresh weight and leaf saturated weight were mainly affected by the height to crown base. The leaf dry weight and leaf relative water content were mainly affected by the height, specific leaf area, leaf water content and leaf dry matter content were mainly affected by the height and taperingness, and leaf mass per area was mainly affected by the diameter, taperingness and height. With the growth of Bombax ceiba Linnaeus, the leaf functional traits showed strongly phenotypic plasticity influenced by tree structure, which was helpful to adapt to the changes in internal and external environment. Therefore, the variation and related combinations of leaf functional traits at different periods reflect the adaptability of Bombax ceiba Linnaeus to the tree structure and resource utilization strategies, which to a certain extent also provide relevant scientific basis for the exploration of the ecological protection and sustainable development of the tropical rain forest in Xishuangbanna.