Abstract: Artemisia halodendron is a psammophytic half shrub while Caragana microphylla is an un-psammophytic shrub. They are both widely distributed shrub species in sand land of eastern Inner Mongolia. The changes of survival rate,plant height,osmotic regulation substances,protective enzymes and membrane permeability in different sand burial depths were studied during 2010-2011 in the Horqin Sand Land of Inner Mongolia to compare tolerance to sand burial and differences in physiological responses of the two species. 1) A. halodendron had a stronger ability to resist sand burial compared with C. microphylla. Plants of the former survived sand burial to a depth of twice seedling height,but the latter all died with burial to seedling height. 2) Height growth of the two species were not significantly reduced when the burial depth was 25% seedling height but was inhibited at burial to 50% seedling height. 3) When the depth of sand burial was 25% to 75% seedling height,A. halodendron showed no water stress,there was no obvious change,in membrane permeability but the MDA content decreased. C. microphylla buried to a depth of 50% showed no water stress,MDA content increased,but there was no significant changes in membrane permeability. 4) Sand burial to depths of 75%-100%,significantly enhanced activities of two kinds of enzymes which prevented membrane lipid peroxidation in A. halodendron,but only one enzyme activity was significantly enhanced in C. microphylla; 5) In sand burial stress,proline played an important role in osmotic adjustment for A. halodendron,but proline and soluble sugar did not effectively affect osmotic adjustment in C. microphylla;6) The stronger ability of A. halodendron to withstand sand burial was mainly attributed to significant increases of protective enzyme activity and osmotic regulatory substance contents which effectively relieved cell membrane damage when subjected to sand burial stress.