An experiment was conducted for applying a nickel plating on Poplar （Populus euramericana cv. ‘I-214’） veneer. It used an electroless method, adding the plating solution by dropping. The effects of technological parameters, such as plating temperature, pH value of the plating solution and plating time, on the nickel deposition rate were analyzed. The optimum parameters were determined, which provides practical references for further research on compositions of wood and metal, as well as the development of functional wood composite materials.