Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii N8 strain was isolated from a sub-tropical reservoir in southern China and cultured with BG-11 culture medium. The effects of temperature, irradiance and nitrate on the growth of this strain were evaluated by a designed experiment with gradients of temperature (12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32℃), irradiance(6.6, 12.4, 21.5, 30.7, 62.9, 106.4 μmol/(m²·s)) and nitrate (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 mg/L). C. raciborskii N8 had normal growth at temperature between 16℃ and 32℃, and the maximum specific growth rate (0.189 d^-1) were observed at temperature between 24℃ and 28℃; C. raciborskii N8 could not survive at 12℃, and chlorophyll-a concentration was significantly lower than other temperature treatments (16-32℃). C. raciborskii N8 had a wide adaptation of irradiance ranging from 6.6 μmol/(m²·s) to 106.4 μmol/(m²·s). An exponential growth was found from 6.6 to 106.4 μmol/(m²·s). The optimal irradiance was 30.7 μmol/(m²·s) and the maximum specific growth rate was 0.156 d^-1. C. raciborskii N8 grew faster significantly in high irradiance conditions (62.9-106.4 μmol/(m²·s)) than that in low irradiance conditions (6.6-12.4 μmol/(m²·s)). The species began an exponential growth under nitrate of 4 mg/L, reached the highest specific growth rate (0.155 d^-1) at the nitrate concentration of 8 mg/L. The specifical growth rates became stable when the nitrate concentration exceeded 16 mg/L. C. raciborskii N8 grew faster significantly in the high nitrate conditions (16-128 mg/L) than that in the low nitrate conditions (0.5-2 mg/L). The present experiments demonstrated that C. raciborskii N8 can adapt for wide temperatures, irradiance and nitrates, and has a potential to colonize and distribute in divers water body over a large scale.