Copper pollution is one of the environmental issues that seriously affects the growth and development of medicinal plants. In order to clarify the absorption pattern of copper elements by ginseng and the influence of copper pollution on the effectiveness of substrate nutrients，two-year-old and three-year-old ginseng were selected as experimental materials，and five copper ion concentrations of 0，100，300，500 and 1000 mg/kg were set up. The results showed that with the increase of copper treatment concentration，the root vitality of both two-year-old and three-year-old ginseng showed a decreasing trend，with the most significant decrease of 62.33% and 44.18%，respectively，under the treatment of 1000 mg/kg copper. The copper content of ginseng at different stages increased significantly with the increase of treatment concentration，reaching a basic stability in the green fruit stage，slightly increasing in the red fruit stage. Under the treatment of 1000 mg/kg copper，the root，stem and leaf of two-year-old ginseng increased significantly by 214.03%，93.83% and 216.03%，respectively，while the root，stem and leaf of three-year-old ginseng increased significantly by 505.65%，337.84% and 189.11%，respectively. After being treated with copper application，the contents of available phosphorus，alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen，available potassium and pH in the substrate decreased significantly，with the most significant decrease of 57.24%，34.78%，32.61% and 22.06%，respectively. Copper treatment significantly altered the absorption of iron，manganse and zinc by ginseng. In the green fruit stage，with the increase of treatment concentration，the root zinc，iron and manganse of two-year-old ginseng decreased significantly by 29.43%，20.71% and 56.75% under the treatment of 1000 mg/kg copper，while the leaf decreased significantly by 34.32%，31.62% and 47.26%，respectively. The root zinc，iron and manganse of three-year-old ginseng decreased significantly by 28.54%，19.91% and 46.64% under the treatment of 1000 mg/kg copper，while the leaf decreased significantly by 30.25%，16.56% and 43.23%，respectively. The changes in trace elements of two-year-old ginseng were slightly higher than those of three-year-old ginseng. Overall，the copper content in all parts of three-year-old ginseng was higher than that of two-year-old ginseng，and the copper content in ginseng increased with the increase of treatment concentration. The absorption rate of copper by both two-year-old and three-year-old ginseng was the highest during the leaf unfolding stage to the green fruit stage，and reached a basic stability in the green fruit stage. There was a slight increase from the green fruit stage to the red fruit stage，but it was not significant. Copper treatment reduced the effectiveness of substrate nutrients and also hindered the absorption of zinc，iron，and manganse by ginseng.