Pot experiment was carried out to determine the effects of nitrogen fertilization by leaf spraying on nutrient growth and flower quality of marigold(Tagetes erecta L) in terms of plant height,branch number,leaf dry weight,flower number,fresh weight and dry weight.A total of four nitrogen treatments with different rates and timing were investigated.Nitrogen fertilization treatment was designed at four levels as 0.025 %(N1),0.05 %(N2),0.075 %(N3) and 0.1 %(N4).The leaf spray period was divided into three stages as seedling stage,budding stage and initial blooming stage.The results showed that the positive effects of nitrogen fertilizer were found in marigold morphological characters,marigold yield and its average accumulation rate at different fertilization levels.In contrast to CK,plant height,branch number and dry weight of leaf increased with increasing nitrogen rates,respectively by increase ranges of 0.88 %~7.36 %,13.04 %~34.78 % and 11.63 %~44.96 %.The indexes of flower yield,including flower number,fresh weight and dry weight,reached relevant maximum values at the treatment level of 0.075 % nitrogen(N3).The results also suggest that nitrogen fertilization by leaf spraying should be carried out at the budding stage and after two or three times of harvesting so that the highest yield of marigold could be obtained.