Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) is a crop with great economic and social importance for the Brazilian Northeast. The water crisis in recent years has affected crop production, especially in the semi-arid region. Thus, the use of lower quality waters (saline) becomes a necessary alternative, but it can affect the growth and yield of agricultural crops. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of salt stress on the initial growth and biomass accumulation of four lima bean cultivars. The experiment was carried out in a protected environment in a completely randomized experimental design in a 5 x 4 factorial scheme, with four replicates. The treatments consisted of 5 salinity levels in irrigation water with electrical conductivity (ECw) of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 dS m -1 and four cultivars: Branquinha (C1), Manteiguinha (C2), Espírito Santo (C3) and Orelha-de-vó (C4). The variables analyzed were plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, stem diameter, root length, shoot dry mass, root dry mass and total dry mass. At the end of the experiment, electrical conductivity of the soil saturation extract was evaluated. The cultivar Manteiguinha was more tolerant to salinity than the others, considering the variables number of leaves and plant height. However, it was not possible to identify variations in the tolerance of the four lima bean cultivars based on biomass production, indicating the need for further studies that can prove the existence of genetic variability in relation to the effects of salt stress on this species