Lindera megaphylla, a broad-leaved evergreen that is used as a landscape ornamental plant and medicinal plant, is an ecologically important and dominant tree species. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of its growth, development, and metabolism. The selection of suitable reference genes is critical for molecular biological analyses. To date, no research on reference genes as a foundation for gene expression analysis has been undertaken inL. megaphylla. In this study, 14 candidate genes were selected from the transcriptome database ofL. megaphyllafor RT-qPCR assay under different conditions. Results showed thathelicase-15andUBC28were most stable in different tissues of seedlings and adult trees. For different leaf developmental stages, the best combination of reference genes wasACT7andUBC36.UBC36andTCTPwere the best under cold treatment, whilePAB2andCYP20-2were the best under heat treatment. Finally, a RT-qPCR assay ofLmNAC83andLmERF60genes were used to further verify the reliability of selected reference genes above. This work is the first to select and evaluate the stability of reference genes for the normalization of gene expression analysis inL. megaphyllaand will provide an important foundation for future genetic studies of this species.