Abstract: Spatial correlogram and spatial correlation index methods were used to analyse the spatial patterns of major vegetation types in the mid-range of the Tianshan Mountains and the relationship between populations and environmental factors. Desert, subalpine meadow and alpine meadow vegetation dominate this area and a number of environmental and climatic factors were used to analyse their distribution. These include 30 years average rainfall, monthly average temperature, elevation and soil nitrogen. The results indicate that elevation and average July temperature were major factors which affected desert population spatial patterns on northern slopes, and with increasing elevation there was a decline in the abundance of plants. Many factors affected plant distribution on the southern slopes, of which nitrogen content was the most important factor. In subalpine meadow vegetation the factors affecting population spatial patterns were CaCO3 content and January temperature (both negatively) and annual rainfall (positively). Many factors worked together on population distributions in alpine vegetation areas, but annual rainfall, January temperature and July temperature were among the most important factors.