Pine resin, a valuable secondary metabolite, is derived from the products of photosynthesis. Pine needles, serving as the primary organ for photosynthesisnutrient absorption, facilitate the continuous transport of nutrients to all plant organs through photosynthesis. The functional traits of pine needles exhibit a close association with the photosynthetic efficiency of pine trees, thereby affecting resin yield. The selection of superior trees with highresin yield (RY) for slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) faces difficulties due to low selection efficiencya high false selection rate caused by the absence of reliable indirect selection traits. The objective of this study was to systematically investigate the relationships between slash pine needle functional traitsRY in different regions. Understanding the relationship between functional traits of pine needlesRY is essential for addressing the challenges mentioned above. There were positive correlations between RYmost morphological traits, except for leaf dry matter content (LDMC), which showed a negative correlation. Moreover, low-resin yield trees exhibited lower values for most morphological variables, except for LDMC. High-yield trees exhibited higher stomata number per mm2 (STN), larger stomata diameter (STD)size (STS),stomata area per mm2 (STA) across all periodssites when compared with low-yield individuals. Chloroplast pigment component analysis revealed that high yielders exhibited higher levels of chloroplast a (CHL a)chloroplast a+b (CHL a+b) compared to low yielders,positive correlations were found between resin yieldCHL a, chloroplast b (CHL b),CHL a+b. Higher nutrient contents were observed in high resin yield individuals,positive correlations were found between resin yieldmost nutrients, except for potassium (K). Different needle functional traits exhibited varying periodic patterns of resin production. Most needle functional traits could be useful criteria for evaluating resin production in slash pine breeding programs, which could improve the efficiency of breeding, shorten the breeding cycle,accelerate the breeding process.