The impact of phosphorus on the growth of sugarcane cultivars was conducted by a pot test. Phosphorus was applied at two levels, i.e., 0.2 μmol/L ( P1), 1 000 μmol/L (P2) for three sugarcane cultivars which were ROC22, Yunzhe 06–407 and Yunzhe 05–211.The results indicated that root length, root surface, root diameter, root volume, diameter, plant dry weight, plant fresh weight in Yunzhe 06–407 treatment were 19.50%, 31.63%, 11.11%, 42.25%, 14.21%, 39.99%, and 36.31%, respectively, higher than those of in P2, whereas root length, root surface, root volume, diameter, plant fresh weight, plant dry weight in ROC22 and Yunzhe 05–211 were lower than those of in P2. The utilizing efficiency of phosphorus was higher for ROC22 in P2, the same was true for Yunzhe 06–407 in P1 and P2 treatments. This study showed that the root and plant growth of Yunzhe 06–407 were better under P1 treatment, while they were better for ROC22 and Yunzhe 05–211 cultivars in P2 treatment.