Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) premature leaf senescence-resistant inbred XLZ33 and senescence-susceptible inbred lines XLZ13 were selected and crossed to produce F1, F1-reciprocal, F2 and BC1 generations for evaluation of leaf senescence process and inheritance. The results showed that leaf senescence processes for XLZ13 and XLZ33 were obviously different and leaf senescence traits could be distinguished between the two parents at particular periods of cotton growth. Inheritance anlysis for the cotton premature leaf senescence resistant trait further showed that the segregation in the F2 fit a 3:1 ratio inheritance pattern, with resistance being dominant. The backcross of F1 to the susceptible parent produced a 1:1 ratio, confirming that cotton premature leaf senescence resistant trait was from a single gene. The single dominant gene controlling cotton premature leaf senescence resistance in XLZ33 was named as cotton premature leaf senescence resistance 1, with the symbol cplsr1.