Molecular mechanisms of plant responses to salinity stress and the physiological consequences of altered gene expression are reviewed. Extensive use of comparisons with halophytic plants and glycophytos provide a paradigm for many responses to salinity exhibited by stress sensitive plants. Osmolyte biosynthesis, water flux control, and membrane transport of ions are important for maintenance and re-establishment of homeostasis. Transgenic plant and mutant analyses in Arabidopsis improve the understanding of stress responses and elements of stress signal transduction pathways. The genomic DNA sequences and cell-specific transcript expression data, combined with determinant identification based on molecular genetics, will provide the infrastructure for functional physiological dissection of salt tolerance determinants in plants. Protein interaction analysis, genetic activation and suppression screens will lead inevitably to an understanding of the interrelationships of the multiple signaling systems that control stress-adaptive responses and provide more opportunity to engineer salt tolerance in plants.