[Objective] The variation patterns of C, N, and P contents in soil and their ecological stoichiometric characteristics during the process of vegetation restoration in arid zones was analysed in order to provide a scientific basis for accurately assessing the impacts of sand-fixing vegetation on soil nutrients in arid environments. [Methods] A Hedysarum scoparium community in the 1992 aerial seeding afforestation area at the northeastern edge of the Tengger Desert was taken as the research object. The native vegetation Artemisia oleifera as well as a quicksand land without vegetation restoration measures were used as the control (CK). The soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) levels across a soil profile in the H. scoparium community and their eco-chemometric characteristics were analyzed. [Results] ① The SOC, TN, and TP contents of the soil from the H. scoparium community, which was established more than 30 years ago, were 0.71, 0.03, and 0.27 g/kg, respectively. These were all significantly higher than those of the unseeded quicksand land by 73.2%, 50%, and 145.5%, respectively. The SOC was restored to 58.6% of that of the native vegetation A. oleifera. The distributions of SOC, TN, and TP content in the H. scoparium soil decreased with soil depth and were significantly higher in the 0—10 cm soil layer than in the other soil layers (p<0.05). ② The soil C∶P and N∶P ratios of the H. scoparium community were 0.57, and 0.13, which were 30.5% and 48% lower than those of the bare sand, respectively. The C∶N ratio was 22.41, which was 73.2% higher than that of the bare sand. The soil C∶P and N∶P ratios decreased with increasing soil depth, whereas the C∶N ratio showed an increasing followed by a decreasing trend. The average N∶P ratio in the H. scoparium community at a soil depth of 0—200 cm was 0.13, which was much smaller than 14 in the control groups. [Conclusion] The accumulation of soil nutrients in the study area became evident as sand-fixing vegetation was restored. The growth of the H. scoparium community was mainly limited by N. Thus, it is recommended to apply increased amounts of N fertilizer in the later stages of the H. scoparium community establishment. In addition, the H. scoparium community was observed to have a low soil organic matter mineralization rate, a lower rate of SOC decomposition than SOC accumulation, and a favorable soil environment for C accumulation.