Germination properties, leachate electrical conductivity (EC), and inorganic compound leaching were analyzed to ascertain the storage ability and change of physiological characteristics during storage of Hippophae rhamnoides seeds. Seeds were placed in an incubator at 25℃ and sown in different soil media (sand, vermiculite and horticultural substrate) after being stored for 6, 18 and 30 months at 2℃. All germination properties decreased in accordance to an increase of the seed storage period. Compared with the seed storage for 18 months, germination percentage (GP), germination performance index (GPI), and germination value (GV) of seeds stored for 30 months decreased by more than 50%. When the seeds were sown in different soil media in a greenhouse, those germination properties were similar to the seeds germinated in an incubator, and mean germination time, GPI and GV had a significant difference except GP among soil media. EC and inorganic ion concentration had a strong positive correlation with the seed storage period, but the ratios of inorganic ions from stored seeds revealed that K + /Mg 2+ and Na + /Mg 2+ were inversely correlated with the storage period.