Abstract Through studying the relationship pattern between productivity (aboveground biomass) and species diversity (Shannon diversity index) of plant communities in typical alpine meadow of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, this paper suggested that the relationship between productivity and Shannon diversity index can be well described by log-linear increase model. As the observed time and environmental conditions changed, the diversity-productivity relationship would change. This change may be caused by the differences in the species richness and species composition or other biotic and abiotic conditions; whereas those differences had an asynchronous influence on diversity and productivity respectively. These types of asynchronous influences could be attributed to species niche differentiations in time and space. Due to the shorter growth season in alpine meadow ecosystem, the changes in environmental conditions had more significant influences on the diversity-productivity relationship than those in the observed time. The differences in observed time and environmental conditions may be the major factors which caused the controversial diversity-productivity relationship. Besides, the synthetical analysis of various diversity indices may deepen the understanding of the diversity-productivity relationship and get some insights into the underlying mechanisms of the relationship.