Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the mechanism of seed emergence and the factors affecting seedling regeneration of Caragana korshinskii. Field surveys and experiments were conducted in the C. korshinskii forest plantation in Baijitan Nature Reserve, Ningxia, China. We conducted field surveys and seed burial experiments in three different base habitats: C. korshinskii shrubs (CKS), Artemisia desertorum shrubs (ADS), and bare sand (BS); and in three different sand dune habitats: bottom (BSD), middle (MSD), and top (TSD). We also evaluated seed emergence and seedling growth at different distances from the base of C. korshinskii shrubs (0.5 m, 1.5 m, and shrub-interspace). The results showed that the habitat (CKS, ADS, and BS) and treatment (sand surface and sand burial) had significant effects on the percentage of seedling emergence (PSE) and survival rate of C. korshinskii seeds (P<0.05). In the ADS habitat, for example, the PSE of buried seeds was significantly higher than that of seeds on the sand surface during the early stage of the survey (P<0.05) and significantly higher than those of buried seeds in both the CKS and BS habitats (P<0.05). The highest PSE was in buried seeds in the ADS habitat, but there was no significant difference in PSE between the other two habitats and between buried seeds and those on the sand surface. The results also showed that the PSE of seeds planted at the BSD was significantly higher than that of seeds planted at the TSD (P<0.01; 20 times higher at the end of the experiment). The maximum and minimum PSE was at 1.5 m from the C. korshinskii shrub base and in the shrub-interspace, respectively, on all survey dates. All three habitats showed the highest PSEs on July 18, but there were no significant differences in PSE and emergence rate (ER) among the three habitats during the whole experiment period. The maximum seedling height, basal stem diameter, taproot length, root∶stem ratio, and total dry mass of seedlings were in BSD, while the maximum root∶shoot ratio was in TSD. Seedlings at 0.5 m from the C. korshinskii shrub base had the greatest seedling height (P<0.05). With increasing distance of seedlings from the C. korshinskii shrub base, the tap root length, root∶stem ratio, and maximum root∶shoot ratio increased, but total dry mass decreased.