Weeds are the worst category of agricultural pests as they compete with crops for water, nutrients, and light, grow faster than crops and eventually reduces the crop productivity thereby increasing the production cost. Herbicide has been used as a management tool to control weeds, by modifying their physiological activities like reducing photosynthesis, increasing protease activity and free radicals etc. The application of non-selected herbicides kills not only the weeds but also non-target organisms including the main crop. Herbicides like paraquat have been used in rice fields but its toxic effects on other organisms is at par. Salicylic acid, a plant growth regulator, is known to regulate oxidative stress in plants subjected to unfavourable environmental conditions. Given this, the present study was designed to study the effect of salicylic acid in Microchaete sp. NCCU-342 exposed to paraquat. The results obtained demonstrated that the paraquat toxicity elevated MDA and H2O2 levels, indicating free radical formation. However, supplementation of salicylic acid in the culture medium reduced the paraquat toxicity. The content of MDA and H2O2 in presence of salicylic acid was similar to the control. It enhances phenolic compound (29.07%) and phytohormones content (IAA-2.96%, SA-96.59%) and regulate the redox state of the cells. A significant change (recorded in percentage) was observed in the antioxidant enzyme activities including SOD (121.62 %), CAT (30.38 %), APX (74.38 %), GPX (127 %) and GR (141%) in presence of paraquat and after supplementation of salicylic acid. Antioxidant assay confirmed the change in antioxidants in form of phenolic compounds. Salicylic acid supplementation also enhanced the antibacterial activity of cyanobacteria, highlighting that it induces resistance against biotic stress as well as the abiotic stress. This work provides evidence for the ability of salicylic acid to alleviate the paraquat-induced toxicity, maintain redox state and resist the cell against both biotic and abiotic stress.