Abstract: Soft corals represent a significant group of marine invertebrates that are of considerable interest for their potential marine natural products and pharmaceuticals. Similar to stony corals, soft corals are susceptible to bleaching due to environmental stressors and diseases. However, there are limited studies on bleaching in soft corals. This study preliminarily investigates the adaptation mechanisms of Sinularia sp. towards bleaching by examining the changes in its microbiota across various states of bleaching. Transcriptomic analysis was also carried out to identify physiological changes in the corals. Our findings indicate that Sinularia sp. exhibited signs of bleaching after approximately 20 days of shading, achieving complete bleaching by day 30 without mortality, while demonstrating some adaptive responses to environmental changes. Compared to the control group, the densities of zooxanthellae in bleached and semi-bleached corals decreased by approximately 98.69% and 95.40%, respectively. Furthermore, both bleached and semi-bleached corals exhibited reduced α-diversity and abundance of zooxanthellae. Notably, bacterial α-diversity declined post-bleaching, with Endozoicomonas sp. emerging as the dominant genus within the microbiota. Transcriptomic analyses revealed an increase in up-regulated genes and a decrease in down-regulated genes in response to bleaching. Pathway analysis indicated that the expression of genes associated with protein digestion and uptake continued to rise following bleaching, whereas genes related to carbohydrate digestion and uptake significantly decreased. These metabolic alterations may suggest a transition towards a more heterotrophic nutritional strategy in bleached corals. In conclusion, these results provide preliminary insights into the adaptive mechanisms of soft corals in response to photo-induced bleaching and they may provide a lesson for further exploration of adaptive mechanisms of soft coral bleaching.