This study evaluated the effects of phosphorus restriction in the brooding stage and subsequent recovery on growth performance, tibia development and early laying performance of layers. 360 one-day-old hens were randomly divided into 4 groups with 6 replicates and 15 chicks per replicate. Chicks were fed diets containing 0.13% (L), 0.29% (M), 0.45% (N), 0.59% (H) non-phytate phosphorus (nPP) from 1 to 8 weeks of age. From 9 to 20 weeks of age, the L and N group were divided into two groups fed normal level phosphorus (n, 0.39% nPP) and high-level phosphorus (h, 0.45% nPP) separately, then all the birds were fed a normal diet (0.39% nPP) from 21 to 26 weeks of age. Four treatments were tested: Ln, Lh, Nn, and Nh. The lower body weight, average daily feed intake, tibia length and daily tibial increment were observed in the L group (p < 0.05) and the ratio of feed to gain was significantly increased in the L group at 8 weeks of age (p < 0.05). In addition, the fresh and degreased tibia weight, bone ash, Ca content in the tibia and P content in the ash and tibia were significantly decreased in the L group at 8 weeks of age (p < 0.05). After compensatory processes, there was no significant difference in tibia characters; however, body weight in the Ln group was significantly lower than in the Nn group (p < 0.05) and was significantly lower in the Lh group than the Nn group (p < 0.01) and Nh group (p < 0.05). In addition, the laying rate and average daily egg mass in the Lh group were lower than Nn and Nh (p < 0.05). In conclusion, severe dietary phosphorus restriction impaired growth performance and bone mineralization in the brooding stage. Subsequent phosphorus supplementation could not alleviate this adverse effect on body weight, which continued to affect egg production. These findings give a foundation and new perspective on a low phosphorus feeding strategy in layer production.