SUMMARYWe describe a two-grid finite element discretization scheme for computing wave functions of the Schrödinger-Poisson (SP) system. To begin with, we compute the first k eigenpairs of the Schrödinger-Poisson eigenvalue (ESP) problem on the coarse grid using a continuation algorithm, where the nonlinear Poisson equation is solved iteratively. We use the k eigenpairs obtained on the coarse grid as initial guesses for computing their counterparts of the ESP on the fine grid. The wave functions of the SP system can be easily obtained using the formula of separation of variables. The proposed algorithm has the following advantages. (i) The initial approximate eigenpairs used in the fine grid can be obtained with low computational cost. (ii) It is unnecessary to discretize the partial derivative of the wave function with respect to the time variable in the SP system. (iii) The major computational difficulties such as closely clustered eigenvalues that occur in the SP system can be effectively computed. Numerical results on the ESP and the SP system are reported. In particular, the rate of convergence of the proposed algorithm is O(h 4 ).