Backround and objective :Polyscias guilfoylei ‘variegata’is an beautifully variegated ornamental foliage shrub having   lush green leaves   with large irregular patches of ochre yellow from the midvein to the edges. The morphology of the leaves adds value for its quality in the export market. Light intensity greatly influences the amount of variegation in these plants. A shade house experimentation was carried out to estimate the effects of graded shade levels on the growth and quality of Polyscias guilfoylei ‘variegata’, in the Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka from July 2017 to November 2017.Materials and methods:The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design with three replications. The experimental location was crop farm, Eastern University, Sri Lanka. Graded shade levels were defined as treatments viz. Control (T1), 50% (T2), 60% (T3), 70% (T4), and 80% (T5), of shade levels. Shade houses were constructed using commercial nylon nets of different shade level. Rooted, uniform cuttings of were used as planting materials. Agronomic practices were followed uniformly for all treatments. Plant height, leaf area, number of leaves , plant biomass and SPAD value  were measured at monthly interval and quality of cuttings was evaluated at the end of experiment. Analysis of Variance was performed to determine significant difference among treatments (p< 0.05). Plants provided with 50% shading showed significantly (p<0.05) better performance in measured growth parameters viz. plant height, plant biomass and biomass partitioning, while the lowest performance was observed in plants from 80% (T5) shading (lower irradiation) and open field (higher irradiation)  condition (T1) . Results: Results revealed that, plants provided with 70% shade level showed significantly (p<0.05) better performance in measured growth parameters.  In quality assessment also, plants grown at 70% shade level (T4) received significantly highest score.  Conclusion: Therefore, it could be concluded that, 70% shade level is optimum for the export oriented cultivation of Polyscias guilfoylei ‘variegata’ in the Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka. This is beneficial to the farmers who are engaged in the floriculture cultivation in Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka. They can improve the quality of the plants by providing 70% shade level. It leads to improve their economic savings and market demand.