Bretschneidera sinensis Hemsl. is a rare relict tree species in Taiwan; however, the seed dormancy of this species is still controversial. In this study, we evaluated the effects of decortication, cold stratification, gibberellic acid (GA3) immersion, and their interactions on the germination of B. sinensis seeds. Results showed that control seeds with no treatment did not germinate during a 12-wk incubation period, indicating that seeds had significant dormancy. In contrast, seeds with other treatment combinations exhibited 0.8% to 65.0% germination percentages. Among them, the highest germination percentage and shortest mean germination time were observed in the treatment combination with 4 wk. of 4°C cold stratification, decortication, and then immersion in 100 ppm GA3 for 24 h. Decortication and cold stratification significantly increased seed germination percentages. Although GA3 immersion also increased seed germination percentage, the effect did not reach a significance level. GA3 immersion did significantly shorten the mean germination time of seeds, while decortication and cold stratification did not. This study demonstrated that fresh B. sinensis seeds have physiological dormancy, which can be overcome through a combination of cold stratification, decortication, and GA3 immersion. .