The effects of salt stress on the physiological characterization of Zygosaccharomyces rouxii CGMCC 3791 were studied, the results showed that salt stress inhibited cell growth and the ethanol content increased from 11.64mg to 19.20mg (120g/L NaCl). Analysis of intracellular pH and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels showed that salt stress led to the decrease in intracellular pH and increase in ROS level. Meanwhile, the activities of intracellular antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and glutathione peroxidase) were increased to resist oxygen stress induced by salt stress. The effect of salt stress on the intracellular glutathione (GSH) content of Z. rouxii was measured, and the results showed that the intracellular GSH content increased with the increase of salt concentration. At 120g/L salt concentration, the GSH content increased significantly by 73.4%. Then the effect of exogenous addition of glutathione on cell growth was investigated, and the results showed that the biomass of cells increased by 15% at 120g/L salt concentration by adding 0.5g/L glutathione. This study may provide theoretical support for in-deep understanding the salt-tolerant physiological mechanisms of Z. rouxii and further improvement of its salt tolerance.