Rich dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from the leachate of leaf litters is an energy source to heterotrophic bacteria. In addition to DOC, inorganic phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) nutrients are released from leaf litters during the leaching process. These inorganic nutrients can support the growth of phytoplankton and enhance primary production. In this study, we investigated how DOC, nitrogenous and phosphorus nutrients in the leachates of leaf litters influence the growth of green algae Scenedesmus by incubating Scenedesmus in leachates from 12 leaf litters. Furthermore, we added basal COMBO to the incubations to test micronutrient limitation in leachates. We found that Scenedesmus density increased and peaked as leachate DOC:dissolved P ratio reached 1000, and lowers when DOC:dissolved P ratio further increases. Scenedesmus density also exhibited unimodal pattern with dissolved N:P ratio, and the maximal density occurred as dissolved N:P reaches 5. For most litter leachates, adding basal COMBO did not significantly influence the growth of Scenedesmus. Only Scenedesmus incubated in the leachates of Japanese elm, Siebold’s beech, oak and Japanese hemlock exhibited higher growth with basal COMBO. We conclude that the stoichiometry of leaf litter leachates critically affects phytoplankton growth, and most litter leachates contain sufficient micronutrients for phytoplankton.