Ferula gummosa is a monocarpic plant, part of the celery family Apiaceae, which is native to Iran. Due to its resin content, endogenous gum, and volatile oil, Ferula is being used in traditional medicine as well as cooking. Lengthening droughts in the natural habitat associated with climate changes, together with overharvesting by indigenous people have subjected Ferula to extinction. Recruitment of this species to its natural habitat relies on seed germination. With this respect, in this study, we examined how drought affects the germination of F. gummosa seeds. With this respect, seeds were initially surface-sterilized by submerging in water for 48 h followed by ethanol and sodium hypochlorite. After rinsing with distilled water, seeds were placed in Petri dishes covered with wet filter paper and kept for 90 days in cold and dark conditions. The drought was imposed by applying 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% concentrations of polyethylene glycol 6000 )PEG). Experiments were designed in a completely randomized form and performed with three replicates for each treatment, with 25 seeds per plate. Rate and percentage of seed germination declined with increasing PEG concentrations. Notably, there was no seed germination observed among seeds treated with 15% PEG. The mass of seedlings (both fresh and dry weight) declined as PEG concentration rose. Protein content was initially elevated in 5% PEG but declined thereafter. As a consequence, the maximal level for total protein was detected as 2.65 μg / g FW which was recorded for 5%PEG treatment. The activity of antioxidant enzyme catalase increased in parallel to PEG concentration while other antioxidant enzymes presented a progressive decrease in their activity as PEG concentration rose. In case of the activity of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), no significant difference was detected upon application of increasing PEG concentrations. These results indicate that the seed germination of Ferula is sensitive to drought. Thus drought not only affects intact plants but also prevents their recruitment by inhibition of the germination of dispersed seeds.