To explore whether there would be some geographical trends in plant physiological response to undergoing climate warming, we conducted, using spacefortime substitution, a transplant experiment for 1 yearold seedlings of five Quercus variabilis provenances (Pinggu, Beijing; Neixiang, Henan; Yongxiu, Jiangxi; Zigui; Hubei and Chengbu, Hunan) in the trial site (Heshan, Guangdong) which is more southern beyond these provenances natural edge. The results showed that: (1) the pooled nonstructural carbohydrates concentrations (NSCs) increased with increasing latitude (origins) and this trend was dominated by leaf NSCs, especially by leaf sugar concentrations. Leaf sugar and root starch increased, but root sugar decreased with the increase of latitude, and no obvious geographical trends were found in shoot NSCs. (2) The nitrogen concentration in various tissues, along with leaf P, increased with an increase of latitude, but inverse for the ratio of N to P. The nutrient use efficiency (NUE, expressed as C∶N and C∶P) in tissues all exhibited a weakly decreasing trend with latitude with an exception of leaf NUE. (3) The relative growth rate of Q.variabilis declined with increasing latitude, and negatively correlated with available carbon pool (referred to NSC) according to the results of partial analysis. To sum up, our results revealed that, to some extent, the strategy of growth and substance allocation for oak seedling among different origins was dominated by the genetic factors.