Objective：To investigate the impact of different numbers of readout points（N_read）on image quality in zero echo time（ZTE）imaging of the lumbar spine，and to determine the optimal N_read. Methods：Sixteen healthy volunteers were recruited and underwent coronal ZTE scans of the lumbar spine with three different N_read（128，144，and 160），to obtain three sets of images（N_read-128，N_read -144，and N_read -160）. The signal intensity of the cortical bone，muscle，and cancellous bone was measured in each set，and the standard deviation of subcutaneous fat was defined as noise to calculate the signal -to - noise ratio（SNR）and contrast -to - noise ratio（CNR）. Two observers subjectively evaluated the three sets of images using a 4-point scale across four aspects：cortical bone depiction，anatomical structure clarity，perceived image noise，and overall image quality. Inter-observer agreement was assessed using weighted Kappa statistics. Repeated - measures ANOVA was used to compare SNR and CNR，and the Friedman test was used to compare subjective image quality scores，with Bonferroni correction applied for post-hoc analyses. Results：For the SNR in all measured regions（cortical bone，muscle，and cancellous bone）and the CNR between tissues（cortical bone-muscle，cortical-cancellous bone），the results consistently showed N_read -160>N_read -144>N_read -128（P<0.001）. In terms of subjective evaluation，the scores for the N_read -160 set were significantly higher than those for the N_read-128 set（P<0.001），while the difference between the N_read-160 set and the N_read-144 set was not statistically significant（P>0.05）. Conclusion：In ZTE scanning of the lumbar spine，increasing N_read helps improve image quality.N_read -144 provides high SNR and CNR，and its subjective image quality scores are comparable to those of N_read -160. Considering both scanning time and image quality，144 is recommended as the optimal N_read for ZTE imaging of the lumbar spine.