[Objective] The variation laws of community characteristics with different planting years were studied in accordance with the initial stage of vegetation restoration of the slope of a coal gangue heap in the arid area of Northwest China to provide the basis for ecological restoration in Wuhai mining area.[Methods] The Meifang coal gangue heap in Wuhai mining area was taken as the research object, and the growth status of vegetation and community stability in the initial stage of vegetation restoration were compared and analyzed by using the method of sampling and surveying the field samples.[Results] ① The number of species increased significantly during the vegetation restoration. There were only four species of natural invasive plants in the second year of restoration; then, the number increased to six in the third year. In the fourth year, the number of species increased to seven, and the dominant species were Halogeton arachnoideus. The number of natural invasive plant species increased gradually, indicating that the community was undergoing a positive succession process. ② The average vegetation coverage, superterrane biomass, and richness index increased by 1.5 times, with an increase in the restoration years from two to four, indicating that the community structure was gradually becoming stable. ③ The community of the coal gangue hill was in the initial stage of succession when the vegetation was reconstructed for two to four years. The similarity coefficient of community decreased year by year, and the community structure tended to be complicated, but it was still in an unstable state.[Conclusion] In the following vegetation restoration of coal gangue hill, naturally permanent planting of local species that are adaptive for local conditions should be properly promoted when planting typical reclamation plant species, such as Leguminosae, Gramineae, and Compositae. In addition, the local gene bank should be preserved in the coal gangue hill by planting native plant species belonging to the climax stage of succession.