Abstract: The best grazing system characteristics in desert steppe were probed in a controlled grazing experiment in desert grassland under 9-year exclosure in Yanchi county, Ningxia province and the effects of different grazing systems on aboveground biomass of pasture and interspecific relationships were studied. Results showed that, 1) The grazing intensities had different effects on aboveground biomass of pasture in different growing seasons, and the biomass was lower in moderately grazed, fenced plots than in continuously grazed ones throughout the growing season. 2) The environment had a great impact on aboveground biomass which was lower in fenced than in rotationally grazed plots with different intensities under adequate natural conditions, while fenced plots had more biomass in rotationally grazed plots under high temperature, drought environments. The grassland of rotationally grazed plots with moderate intensity showed better anti-stress ability than ungrazed. 3) Grazing reduced the temporal heterogeneity of aboveground biomass in desert steppe throughout the growing season, however the spatial heterogeneity of aboveground biomass was complex: it had different responses in different grazing systems and different growing seasons. 4) The interspecific relationships and those between communities were not changed by continuous low intensity grazing, while continuous grazing with heavy intensity not only increased the resource competition between different communities but also caused varying degrees of regressive succession in three communities. The four-course system with moderate intensity was the best grazing system in this area, as it eased the resource competition at the interface between communities and also improved the forward succession of Stipa bungeana. Therefore, the desert steppe could be protected and restored by regulating the grazing systems.