Abstract: Subalpine coniferous forests dominate most parts of the forested areas in western Sichuan, including the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Since the 1940s, natural coniferous forests have been cleared, and Picea asperata is an important species used for reforestation. Up to now, a total of ca. 13 000 hm2 of plantations have been planted with this species in this region. Hence, studies on seed source, dynamics of the soil seed bank and seedling survival of Picea asperata populations are of significance for the management and conservation of coniferous forest ecosystem. The seed rain and soil seed bank of spruce plantations that were 20, 30, and 60 years old and a 150 years old natural spruce forest in the Miyaluo subalpine coniferous forest in western Sichuan, China were studied using seed traps, sieving and counting seeds in the soil, conducting seed germination experiments, and measuring seedling density in the three plantations and the forest. The area is located on a high mountain valley in the transitional zone between the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and the Sichuan basin. The results showed that seed rain lasted from early October to the end of January. The intensity of seed rain of the different aged plantations increased in the following order; 20 years old plantation ((66.73±5.71) seeds•m-2) < natural spruce forest ((579.99±28.93) seeds•m-2) < 30 years old plantation ((973.45±63.12) seeds•m-2) < 60 years old plantation ((1 088.16±52.34) seeds•m-2). The timing of the seed rain and the peak fall differed among sites and was correlated with the age of the plantation age. The soil seed bank of the 30 years old, and 60 years old plantations and natural spruce forest at two sampling periods was (507.2±40.32) and (267.6±25.14), (1 065.6±88.06) and (872.8±77.12), (472.8±20.82) and (185.5±22.48) seeds•m-2, respectively. The vertical distribution of seeds in the soil bank showed that about 66% of the total seeds were distributed in the litter layer, 24% in the 0-2 cm layer and 10% at 2-5 cm depth. By August 21, 2003, all of the spruce seeds had lost viability in the soil, and the number and proportion of decayed seeds and vacant seeds greatly increased. Seed decay from soil pathogens and seed-predation by animals were the most important factors affecting soil seed bank dynamics. The proportion of seeds removed from the soil seed bank via germination was quite low. The spruce soil seed bank belongs to the type Ⅱ as defined by Thompson and Grime, namely, the soil seed bank only existed in winter and germinated in spring. There were significant differences in the seedling density in the 30 years old plantation ((28.57±6.39) seedlings•m-2) 60 years old plantation ((39.42±16.21) seedlings•m-2) and natural spruce forest ((10.75±2.37) seedlings•m-2). Seedling mortality was high due to poor habitat quality. The recruitment potential increased with plantation stand age, but the recruitment potential of spruce plantations were higher than that of natural spruce forests when seed rain, soil seed bank and seedling number were considered together. In Miyaluo spruce woodlands in western Sichuan, China, despite high seed production, the number of spruce seedlings recruited from the seed to seedling stage was relatively few.