In this paper, the delayed ultra-weak luminescence (UWL), leaf dry/fresh weight and reactive oxygen species (ROS) of the maize (Jundan 20) were investigated under various NaCl concentration. The results showed that following with the increase of NaCl, ROS contents increased obviously, but the UWL intensity decreased, and the decrease speed increased following with the increase of NaCl concentration, the decrease extent of delayed luminescence ranged from 10.4% to 27.2%. It was also found that both dry and fresh weight of seedling leaves decreased, but the ratio of dry/fresh weight increased. According to these results, we speculated that the decrease of UWL was mainly closely associated with the destruction of seedling normal physiological activities and metabolic disorder which were caused by NaCl stress, rather than ROS only. This study revealed that the spectral analysis of UWL is a useful tool for studying plant response to salt stress.