[Objective] The potential impacts of artificial vegetation reconstruction of desert steppe on regional evapotranspiration were studied in order to provide a theoretical basis for regional ecological restoration and reconstruction.[Methods] Based on the MODIS ET and NDVI products from 2001 to 2018, trend analysis, correlation analysis, and zoning statistics were used to study the effects of artificial vegetation reconstruction on regional ecosystem evapotranspiration, with the desert steppe in Yanchi County of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region being used as an example ecosystem.[Results] ① The NDVI value in Yanchi County showed an upward trend from 2001 to 2018, with the growth rate reaching 0.006 0/a, and the growth area of the desert steppe in Yanchi County reached 98.55%. ② In 2001-2018, the average evapotranspiration (ET) was 266.73 mm, which showed that the ET in the southwest was higher than that in the northwest. The evapotranspiration in Yanchi County increased significantly over the past 18 years (p<0.01), with a growth rate of 6.27 mm/a. The ET has a noticeable upward trend in all pixels of Yanchi County. ③ The ET increased notably after large-scale artificial vegetation reconstruction in Yanchi County, and the ET and NDVI showed a significant positive correlation. The correlation between the changes in the ET and NDVI was 0.76 (p<0.01). ④ Vegetation structure change caused by vegetation reconstruction leads to greater evapotranspiration of the ecosystem, more water consumed in the desert steppe area of Yanchi County, and an accelerated growth rate of the ET.[Conclusion] The artificial vegetation reconstruction of the desert steppe has increased the NDVI value and enhanced the ET of the regional ecosystem in Yanchi County. The increased water consumption will affect the stability of the desert steppe ecosystem.