To gain more insights into the possibility of conservation under international seeds bank conditions (3%~7% moisture content, at -20℃), the desiccation sensitivity and cryopreservation characteristic of the tea (Camellia sinensis) seeds were investigated. The results show that tea seeds are not recalcitrant, as they can tolerate drying to 7%~9% moisture content without significant viability loss. However, survival of two months cold-stratified seeds dry to 7%~9% declined sharply after one week storage at -20℃, and no seeds survive after three months. Detailed studies using scanning electron microscope of the cross sections revealed that when storage temperature was maintained at -20℃, there was a fatal cryoinjury in both axis and cotyledon, occurred mainly as a result of freezable water becoming ice.