In order to select urban greening plants with excellent dust retaining capability, seven species of shrubs, including Allamanda cathartica, Duranta erecta 'Golden Leaves', Ficus microcarpa 'Golden Leaves', Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Ixora chinensis, Pittosporum pentandrum var. formosanum and Heptapleurum arboricola, growing in the road green belt of University Road in Nanning, were studied to observe the leaf morphology and the ultrastructure characteristics of leaf epidermis, and collected and measured the dust retaining capability per unit leaf area at the same time. The results revealed that the plant leaves had more dust retaining in winter than in summer in this section of the road studied, and that dust particles greater than PM₁₀ were accumulated more than PM₁₀ or PM_2.5. Among the species studied, D. erecta GL had the most outstanding ability of dust retaining, I. chinensis and H. rosa-sinensis were more dust retaining capability with particle diameters more than PM₁₀, while F. microcarpa GL and P. pentandrum var. formosanum had more clear advantage in dust retaining with fine particles such as PM₁₀ and PM_2.5. According quantified principal component analysis, the five characteristic including: whether the leaf blade was hairy or not, leaf margin type, the number of primary lateral veins, the netting status of the terminal lateral veins and the distribution status of the leaf veins on the leaf surface contained most of the information on the relationship between leaf morphological traits and dust retaining capability. Among the ultrastructure features of the leaf epidermis, projecting anticlinal wall of the upper epidermal cell and granular ornamentation of waxy layer contributed to stronger dust retaining than flocculent ornamentation of waxy layer. Striped ornamentation of cuticle that was too thick or too thin and neatly arranged were not benefit to dust retaining. And the cuticle of the outer edge of stomatal outer arch of the lower epidermis of the leaf had a multilayered ring structure which facilitating the adhesion of more dust particles. The findings of this study could help to provide a reference for the selection of plants for greening and air purification in different types of atmospheric pollution environments and give us a theoretical basis for the study of plant dust retaining. In the strategy of dust retaining, seven plants showed some differences in the macro-morphological characteristics of leaves and ultrastructure of epidermis. D. erecta GL had the largest dust retaining capability, various leaf colors and outstanding landscape effects, so it is worth popularizing. In the dust environment dominated by large particulate matter, I. chinensis and H. rosa-sinensis are recommended, while in the environment with fine dust particles, F. microcarpa GL and P. pentandrum var. formosanum can be planted more.