The effects of two typical deicing salts (mass concentration of NaCl in No. 1 deicing salt was 45.2%, in No. 2 deicing salt 54.6% ) on seed germination and growth of shoots and roots of three kinds of cool-season turfgrasses (Poa pratensis cv. Merit, Lolium perenne cv. Green Emerald and Trifolium repens cv. Riverdel) were studied. The length of roots and shoots, relative water content, relative permeability of plasma membrane, malondialdehyd (MDA) content and peroxidases(POD) activity of turfgrass seedlings were also determined in this paper. The results showed that the inhibition effect on seed germination and growth response in the three kinds of turfgrasses was increased with increasing concentration of deicing salts. Compared with No. 1 deicing salt, the inhibition effect of No. 2 deicing salt was stronger. Lolium perenne showed the highest tolerance to deicing salts, followed by Poa pratensis and Trifolium repens. The critical value of tolerance to deicing salts were 6.25–9.61 g/L, 4.99–6.17 g/L and 1.97–3.11 g/L for Lolium perenne, Poa pratensis and Trifolium repens, respectively and the maximum value were 12.89–16.85 g/L, 9.79–12.62 g/L and 5.71– 8.26 g/L, respectively. The deicing salts mainly inhibited water absorption, disturbed membrane function and induced MDA accumulation via the effect of osmotic and ion toxicity, and POD enzyme of the three kinds of turfgrass seedlings provided some protection against the deicing salt stress.