Abstract:The Qinghai Lake region is located in the northeastern of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, about 36˚15′—38˚20′N,97˚50′—101˚20′E. The elevation of this region is about 3200--5000m about sea level. The vegetation and its distribution in this region was influenced by the existence of Qinghai Lake and the complicated landscape characteristics. Plant species growing in the area is poor. According to preliminary statistics, there are 52 families, 174 genera, 445 species of spermatophytes. The main vegetation types are. needleleaf forest in cold temperate, shrubs in plateau valley, alpine shrubs, sandy shrubs, steppe in temperate, alpine steppe, alpine meadow, swamp meadow, subnival vegetation, and so on. The characteristics of the communities above are described in this paper. The distributional law of vegetation in this region is evident. The horizontal variation of vegetation shows a trend of adapting high-cold habitats from east to west. The temperate steppe, which is distributed in a ring-shaped belt around the lake, is related to the lake basin landscape and the existence of Qinghai Lake. The alpine steppe is found within high-cold habitats. The vertical spectrum in this area from down to up shows steppe-alpine shrubs and alpine meadow-subnival vegetation.As a whole, the region belongs to one part of Qilian Mountains area, and is between the eastern region in Qinghai Province and Qaidam Basin. Based on analysis, vegetation and distribution in Qinghai Lake region has a special pattern and coincides with the climate trends to colder and droughter with the uplift of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. With all these in mind, we suggest that the Qinghai Lake region, is a relatively independent part of Qilian Mountains area.