【Objective】To study the allelopathic effects of different plant methanol extracts on cotton seed germination and seedling growth, clarify the type of plant extracts with the best allelopathic effect and determine the appropriate concentration, so as to provide experimental basis and theoretical guidance for the development of new plant growth regulators.【Methods】Taking the popularized cotton seed Xinluzao 57 as the experimental material and the distilled water treatment as the control, the methanol extracts of Sophra alopecuroides, Euphorbia pekinensis, Cuminum cyminum were prepared into five solutions with different concentrations (100,10, 1, 0.1 and 0.01 mg/mL), respectively. After soaking of the seeds, the sand culture method was used to carry out the germination test to investigate the germination potential, germination rate, plant height, stem diameter, leaf photosynthesis and other indicators, and the principal component analysis method was applied to compare the biological effects of plant extracts on cotton growth.【Results】Compared with CK, the germination rate and germination index of cotton seeds treated with 1 mg/mL Sophra alopecuroides extract increased by 8.89% and 7.10% respectively, and the stem diameter, fibrous root number, fresh weight, dry weight and dry matter transport rate of seedlings increased by 24.61%, 20.00%, 66.09%, 50.00% and 4.90%, respectively; The germination rate, stem diameter, number of fibrous roots and net photosynthetic rate of cotton seeds treated with 0.1 mg/mL Cuminum cyminum methanol extract increased by 8.00%, 7.33%, 10.00% and 12.90%, respectively. Further principal component analysis showed that the comprehensive evaluation of 1 mg/mL Sophra alopecuroides extract treatment ranked first, followed by 0.1 mg/mL Cuminum cyminum extract treatment.【Conclusion】Different concentrations of plant extracts have different regulatory effects on cotton seed germination and seedling growth. Among them, 1 mg/mL l Sophra alopecuroides extract treatment is the best, followed by 0.1 mg/mL Cuminum cyminum extract treatment.