Background <p>Histone acetylation is an important epigenetic modification that regulates chromatin structure through histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and deacetylases (HDACs), affecting the expression of surrounding genes. In plants, this modification has a critical impact on plant growth and development and response to adversity by regulating the associated gene expression. Current studies have shown that histone acetylation plays a key role in plants’ response to salt stress, but the related regulatory networks are complex, and a systematic summary of existing studies is urgently needed to promote the theoretical and practical application of histone acetylation in improving salt tolerance in plants.</p> <p>Scope.</p> <p>This paper reviews the damage caused by salt stress to plants and the response mechanisms through maintaining ion homeostasis, removing reactive oxygen species, and accumulating osmotic regulatory substances. In addition, the synthesis and removal mechanisms of histone acetylation and the relevant regulatory proteins are introduced. Finally, the regulative role of HATs and HDACs in salt stress was comprehensively reviewed, and existing problems were discussed, and future perspectives were proposed.</p> Conclusions <p>Under salt stress, HATs and HDACs dynamically regulate acetylation to maintain ion homeostasis, promote the synthesis of osmoregulatory substances, regulate ROS homeostasis, and modulate plant hormone signalling, thereby controlling plants' salt tolerance. Therefore, histone acetylation demonstrates significant application potential in enhancing plant salt tolerance through a multi-pathway synergistic regulatory mechanism. However, how to precisely manipulate the histone acetylation of specific salt-tolerant genes to breed salt-tolerant crop varieties remains a critical issue that urgently needs to be addressed in the future.</p>