An experiment was conducted to test whether foliar application of KNO 3 on wheat in the heading stage could reduce salinity-induced injuries, produce high grain yield, and improve grain quality. Salt-resistant DK961 and salt-sensitive JN17 wheat cultivars under 0 or 100 mM-NaCl conditions were foliarly watered with distilled water or a 10 mM-KNO 3 solution. The four treatments included: T 1 (CK 1 ), 0 mM NaCl + distilled water; T 2 , 0 mM NaCl + 10 mM KNO 3 ; T 3 (CK 2 ), 100 mM NaCl + distilled water; T 4 , 100 mM NaCl + 10 mM KNO 3 . The results indicate that there were no differences (p > 0.05) in plant growth, grain yield, and grain quality between T 2 and T 1 in both cultivars, but these response variables were significantly lower in T 3 than in T 1 . K + : Na + ratio, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic capacity, grain yield, flour yield, water absorbance, ash content, dough-development time and dough-stability time were significantly higher in T 4 than in T 3 , while protein concentration, wet-gluten concentration, and antioxidant enzyme activities were lower. Although foliar application of KNO 3 on JN17 enhanced plant growth, grain yield, and grain quality, these parameters were still lower in T 4 than in T 1 . Our findings suggest that cultivating the salt-resistant wheat cultivar combined with foliar application of KNO 3 at heading stage may alleviate salinity injuries and produce higher grain yield and better grain quality under saline conditions.