Response of wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Shatabdi) to irrigation water of five salinity levels was investigated at the Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) farm with a view to search for a possible advantageous salinity level for the crop. The experiment comprised five treatments − I1: irrigation by fresh water of background salinity 0.385 dS m−1 (control) and I2 − I5: irrigation by synthetic saline water (prepared by mixing sodium chloride salt with fresh water) of electrical conductivity (EC) 4, 7, 10 and 13 dS m−1 (at 25o C), respectively. Wheat was grown under three irrigations applied at maximum tillering, booting and milking/grain filling stages, and with recommended fertilizer dose. Irrigation water of EC ≥10 dS m−1 significantly (p = 0.05) suppressed most growth and yield attributes, and yield of wheat compared to irrigation by fresh water (I1). An attention-grabbing observation was that irrigation by saline water of 4 dS m−1 (I2) contributed positively to the crop attributes. Leaf area index (LAI), spike length, spikelets and grains per spike, 1000-grain weight and above ground dry matter (ADM) of wheat increased by 1.9−3.4, 0.9, 2.6, 7.4, 2.1 and 2.8−6.0%, respectively in I2 compared to the control. The improvement in the LAI and ADM in I2 was significant over I1. Because of the largest spike density, the utmost grain (3.85 t ha−1 ), straw (5.09 t ha−1 ) and biomass (8.93 t ha−1 ) yields of wheat were however obtained under I1. The proposition of the advantageous irrigation water salinity level of 4 dS m−1 thus warrants further investigation.