Abstract: Group richness, diversity and individual density of soil macro-fauna communities were studied from 2008－2009 in Horqin sandy grassland to understand the effect of grassland desertification on the soil macro-fauna community. With the development of grassland desertification, the richness, diversity and individual density was significantly reduced, and the evenness and dominance index significantly increased, with the maximum change observed at the light and at the severe desertification stages. Community composition changed constantly, the similarity between communities was reduced, and the community changed from many dominant groups to a single dominate group, or even to no dominant group, resulting in community succession. Grassland desertification had relatively large effects on soil phytophagous animals and relatively weak effects on soil omnivorous and predatory animals, resulting in significant changes of nutrient functional structure in the community. In the grassland desertification process, the changes of soil macro-fauna community resulted mainly from the degradation of vegetation and the deterioration of soil environment, especially the reductions in vegetation coverage and litter, as well as the deterioration of soil texture and nutrition. The effects of soil moisture, temperature and pH on soil macro-fauna communities were relatively weak.