A completely randomized design pot experiment with four replications was used to assess the effects of six salinity levels of irrigation water on growth parameters (plant height and fresh and dry weight) and elemental composition of two genotypes of wheat (Triticum sativum) and two of barley (Hordeum vulgare) under greenhouse conditions. Seeds of genotypes under study are collected from the Plant Materials Center, Arizona, USA. Saline irrigation water was artificially prepared using a mixture of NaCl and CaCl2 salts. The levels of salinity were 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 mg/l. The fifth treatment was the irrigation with ground water having a salinity level; of 3430 mg /l. The control treatment was the fresh water of 390 mg/l. Seeds of the two genotypes of wheat (‘‘A'' and ‘‘B'') and the two genotypes of barley (‘‘C'' and ‘‘D'') were sown in a sandy calcareous soil. Plant growth parameters and mineral concentrations were determined after 12 weeks from planting. The obtained results showed a negative relationship between plant growth and the irrigation water salinity. Increasing the irrigation water salinity level led to a significant reduction in N and P uptake but an increase in K uptake by plants. Iron, Mn, Cu and Zn uptake were significantly decreased in all genotypes of barley and wheat. Barley plants is more able to grow than wheat plants under the similar conditions. The barley genotype D had a great ability to build up more dry matter in their tissue under such unfavorable conditions. This barley genotype is relatively more tolerant to saline conditions than wheat genotypes and could be recommended to grow on the sandy calcareous soils.