Abstract: The Qaidam basin is situated in the north-east Qinghai-Xizang plateau, its distribution pattern of vegetation is very camplicated. The eastern part of it belongs to the semiarid desert steppe zone with the zonal vegetation desert steppe. The middle part belongs to the arid desert zone with shrubby and dwalf semi-shrubby gravelly desert. The western part is an extremely arid bare-desert without vegetation in the gravelly gobi and low mountains. At the bottom of the basin, a ring-shaped belts of the vegetation from the edge toward the centre shows the following sequence: flood plain--the shrubby and dwarf semi-shrubby gravelly desert belt, alluvial plain–the shrubby and semi-arboreou sandy desert belt, alluviallacustrine plain--the shrubby saline desert belt, lacustrine plain–the holophytic grass and forb meadow belt, and finally, bare salt crust and salt lakes.In the mountains of the Qaidam region there is great difference in the vertical belt spectrum of the vegetation between east and west, the vertical spectrum in the desert steppe zone is: mountainous steppe-mountainous evergreen needleaf forest-subalpine shrubland-alpine meadow-alpine sparse vegetation; in the arid desert zone. dwarf semi-shrub mountain rocky desert-alpine steppe-alpine meadow-alpine sparse vegetation;and in the bare desert zone:bare low mountain rocky desert-dwarf shrubby mountain rocky desert-alpine steppe-alpin sparse vegetation.