To study the effect of selenium on the growth of ginseng and cultivate seleniumenriched Talinum paniculatum, we conducted pot experiment to determine the changes of T. paniculatum growth, leaf photosynthetic pigment content, physiological characteristics and selenium accumulation with selenium application (0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20 mg/kg). The results showed that: (1) selenium application had the effect of “low promotion and high inhibition” on the growth of T. paniculatum. The plant height, stem diameter, root length, number of branches and biomass of T. paniculatum increased first and then decreased. (2) Selenium application can increase the content of photosynthetic pigment in T. paniculatum leaves, and high concentration selenium (≥10 mg/kg) has significant effects on photosynthetic pigment content in T. paniculatum leaves. (3) The SOD and POD activities of T. paniculatum leaves were the highest at the concentration of 2.5 mg/kg (P<0.05), and the highest at CAT activity was 5 mg/kg (P<0.05). With the increase of selenium concentration, the content of vitamin C in the leaves of T. paniculatum increased gradually, the content of soluble protein increased first and then decreased, and the content of soluble sugar decreased. (4) The distribution of selenium in T. paniculatum was: root>leaf>stem, and it increased with the increase of selenium application; T. paniculatum root was the main part of selenium accumulation. According to the study, the concentration of selenium is 5 mg/kg, which is the best concentration for cultivating seleniumenriched T. paniculatum.