The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays a crucial role in various developmental processes and stress responses in plants. During seed maturation and vegetative growth, cellular dehydration increases endogenous ABA levels, which control many dehydration-responsive genes. In Arabidopsis, ABA regulates nearly 10% of protein-coding genes, a higher percentage than other plant hormones. The expression of these genes is primarily regulated by two families of bZIP transcription factors: AB15 in seeds and AREB/ABFs in the vegetative stage, via ABA-responsive elements (ABREs). The SnRK2-AREB/ABF pathway governs most ABA-mediated ABRE-dependent gene expression during osmotic stress in the vegetative stage. Additionally, the circadian clock and light conditions also influence ABA-mediated gene expression, likely enhancing tolerance and repressing growth under stress. Other transcription factors, such as AP2/ERF, MYB, NAC, and HD-ZF, also participate in ABA-mediated gene regulation. The review focuses on the transcriptional regulation of ABA-mediated gene expression in response to osmotic stress during the vegetative growth stage in Arabidopsis.The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays a crucial role in various developmental processes and stress responses in plants. During seed maturation and vegetative growth, cellular dehydration increases endogenous ABA levels, which control many dehydration-responsive genes. In Arabidopsis, ABA regulates nearly 10% of protein-coding genes, a higher percentage than other plant hormones. The expression of these genes is primarily regulated by two families of bZIP transcription factors: AB15 in seeds and AREB/ABFs in the vegetative stage, via ABA-responsive elements (ABREs). The SnRK2-AREB/ABF pathway governs most ABA-mediated ABRE-dependent gene expression during osmotic stress in the vegetative stage. Additionally, the circadian clock and light conditions also influence ABA-mediated gene expression, likely enhancing tolerance and repressing growth under stress. Other transcription factors, such as AP2/ERF, MYB, NAC, and HD-ZF, also participate in ABA-mediated gene regulation. The review focuses on the transcriptional regulation of ABA-mediated gene expression in response to osmotic stress during the vegetative growth stage in Arabidopsis.