The variation of soil moisture content of different thicknesses in the western Qinghai Lake was investigated based on the measurements of soil moisture content.Results showed that the soil moisture contents of thick and thin soil layers in Jiermeng area gradually decreased with the increased depth.In the same soil thickness,the soil moisture content in short grass land was higher than that in tall grass land.Under the same vegetation conditions,the soil moisture content of thick soil layer was higher than that of thin soil layer.A soil dry layer appeared at 80cm depth in thick soil layer,indicating the local moisture deficiency in the lower part of the soil layer.The soil moisture content of thin soil layer(30cm thickness)presented a drying phenomenon,with less than 11% of the moisture content at the 21cm depth in tall grass land and 24cm depth in short grass land,respectively.Soil moisture in Jiermeng area was outstandingly characterized by the higher moisture content in the upper part of soil layer,implying that there was a gather characteristic in the upper part.The outstanding characteristic was mainly caused by longer freezing period and less transpiration and evaporation,and it was beneficial to develop grassland vegetation.Because of the local moisture deficiency in the lower part of soil layer,the region is suitable for the development of drought-resistant and low water consumption vegetation and is not suitable for the development of vegetation with deep root and high water consumption.