Leaf function traits are important feature of plant adaptation to habitat. The environment of karst area is a special ecosystem, the reason how different plants adopt to the habitat and what leaf traits have been rarely reported. There are rarely reported on different plants adapt to the habitat and their leaf traits in karst area. In Shilin karst area of Yunnan Province, we studied 41 plants(different growth forms). We mainly focused on the leaf area(AR), leaf fresh weight(FW), leaf dry weight(DW), leaf thickness(TH), chlorophyll content(Chlc), specific leaf area(SLA)and leaf dry matter content(DMC). The results were as follows:(1)The leaf traits of plants on the species level varied widely, and the differences of different growth forms were significant.(2)There was a significant negative correlation between SLA and DMC(P<0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between leaf length, width and TH(P<0.01). There were significant positive correlation between FW, DW and AR(P<0.01). There were significant positive correlation between TH and Chlc(P<0.01), the correlation between other factors was not significant.(3)The coefficient of variation of plant leaf traits in the study was 15.82%-139.14%, mostly with high coefficient of variation(84.40%-131.01%). The contribution rate of AR and FW were higher, there are 84.40% and 90.28%, plants of different growth forms were stable on TH.(4)In Shilin karst areas, plant leaves adapt to special habitats with lower TH, SLA, Chlc and higher DMC. The above indicates that plants in Shilin karst areas can adapt to special habitats by forming different leaf characteristics. The paper provide a theoretical and piratical reference for the restoration and protection in karst area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]