A pot experiment was conducted using Phoebe bournei seedlings with two-factor including four light treatments (100%, 41.3%, 14.3%, 3.6% NS) and four nitrogen levels (0, 0.5, 1, 2 mol/L) to study the physiological characteristics of Phoebe bournei under the interaction of light and nitrogen, to explore the physiological mechanism of its adaptability to the environment. The results showed that shading and nitrogen could significantly improve the photosynthetic pigment content of Phoebe bournei. With the decrease of light intensity, the soluble sugar (SS), soluble protein (SP), net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), maximum net photosynthetic rate (Pmax), dark respiration rate (Rd), apparent quantum coefficient (AQY) increased first and then decreased under the same nitrogen, and the highest was at 41.3%NS; intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), transpiration rate (Tr), light saturation point (LSP) and light compensation point (LCP) decreased, while the maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) and potential activity (Fv/Fo) of PSII increased with the decrease of light intensity. With the increase of nitrogen, SS, SP, photosynthetic parameters and light response curve of Phoebe bournei seedlings increased first and then decreased. Fv/Fm and Fv/Fo increased significantly under 0 and 2mol/L nitrogen treatment. Membership function analysis showed that L1N1(L=41.3%NS,N=0.5mol/L) treatment was the best, shading and nitrogen can improve osmoregulation, light utilization rate, and promote photosynthesis of Phoebe bournei seedlings, while full light, excessive light, no nitrogen, or excessive nitrogen were not conducive to the physiological metabolism of Phoebe bournei. Key words:Phoebe bournei; light; nitrogen; photosynthetic parameters; physiological metabolism