The physical and chemical indicator system of different types of sand dune deposits was reconstructed by analyzing the characteristics of grain size and geochemical elements from the modern fixed,semi-fixed and semi-shifting and mobile sand dunes in Gonghe Basin,northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau,and it is tentatively applied to the study the desert evolution in geological time.In the meanwhile,combined with variation of the sedimentary facies in typical aeolian sand-paleosol profile,we discussed the spatiotemporal changes of the Gonghe Basin sandy land during the Holocene period,and possible driving mechanism.The results indicate the region experiences the several activation,expansion and fixation,reduction.Specifically, the sandy land was dominated by the mobile dune in 11.8~10.0 ka,while frequently change among semifixed, semi-shifting and fixed sandy land were discovered in other periods.These characteristics are well comparative with the environmental change in adjacent Qaidam Basin desert and Qinghai lake region.In addition, we found the sandy land environment is very sensitive to the humid condition which is controlled by the winter and summer monsoonal strength.In other words,sandy land evolution in Gonghe Basin during the Holocene is product of climatic change.