Abstract:The three experimental sites of Shali(no grazing), Taoli(light grazing) and Wushenzhao(normal grazing) were selected according to grazing intensity to study the distribution characteristics of biological soil crust(BSC) for Artemisia ordosica community in Mu Us sandy land. The vegetation coverage, Artemisia ordosica coverage, BSC coverage, litter-fall coverage, fragmentation of BSC and its thickness in each experimental site were investigated for the fixed and semi-fixed sandy lands with Artemisia ordosica community. Results showed that the BSC coverage averaged 83.74% in fixed sandy land and 23.54% in semi-fixed sandy land. The BSC in semi-fixed sandy land was mostly the alga crust belonging to the initial developmental stage, while about half the BSC in the fixed sandy land was the mosses and lichen dominated crust. The coverage and thickness of BSC did not showed significant differences between grazing and light grazing in fixed sandy land, but normal grazing led to the significantly decreased coverage and thickness of BSC. The BSC in semi-fixed sandy land were more sensitive to distribution, even if a slight grazing disturbance would produce a considerable interference like normal grazing.