Hardened (pre-treated with salicylic acid) and non hardened seeds of mungbean were sown in pots filled with soil treated with different concentrations of NaCl (50, 100 and 200 mM) and the results of the study were evaluated after 20 days of emergence of the seedlings. The study revealed that the seedlings raised from the seeds that were untreated with salicylic acid displayed injury symptoms only after few days of emergence even at lower concentrations of NaCl and the intensity of the damage to the seedlings increased with increasing concentrations of NaCl in the growing medium. The damage to the seedlings could be credited to the increased accumulation of sodium in the plant tissues causing the lipid peroxidation of the cell membrane as evident from the enhanced thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and electrolyte leakage of the plant cells that led to reduced total dry weight of the seedlings. In addition, the activity of different antioxidative enzymes (ascorbate peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase) followed an increasing trend with respect to increasing salinity levels. The magnitude of the damage to the seedlings raised from the seeds pre-treated with salicylic acid was minimized and they exhibited an increased tolerance to salt stress as indicated by reduced thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and electrolyte leakage of the plant tissues which can be endorsed to the capacity of salicylic acid to decrease the sodium uptake and enhance the antioxidant activity hence protecting the plant cells from oxidative damage and minimized the adverse affects on growth of mungbean under salt stress conditions.