A series of significant global continental environment change events occurred in the Cenozoic which have led to enormous changes to the earth climatic and environmental system. Among them,the aridification of Asian inland is one of the most important scientific questions and has attracted worldwide attentions due to its profound effects on human beings and scientifically linking with Tibet uplift,Paratethys Sea retreat and global cooling. Here we report continuous lithologic (sedimentary color) and geochemical (CaCO_3 and salt ions) records from precisely dated late Miocene-early Pleistocene sedimentary sequence of Boguzihe section from western Tarim Basin,NW China. They indicate that arid climate had prevailed within the basin at latest at ca. 5.7 Ma and gradually increased in degree until ca. 3.7 Ma. Between ca. 3.7 and 2.1 Ma,because of local topography, a hydrologic event occurred,which supplied more water from the Tien Shan. After ca. 2.1 Ma the climate in the basin turned to hyper arid. We attributed the stepwise drying of the Asian inland since ca. 5.7 Ma to the late Miocene-Pliocene episodic uplift of the Tibetan Plateau,Pamir and the Tien Shan and the connection of the Pamir with the Tien Shan in remote response to the collision of India with Asia.