Abstract: In the first part of the paper the grassland resources in the semiarid area of China are described. Grasslands cover 2.80 million km² of the 9.6 million km² of the total territory and 100 million livestock are being raised there. Steppes and meadows are classified into several types according to the ecological types of the dominant species and environments, etc.Area, geographical distribution, community structure, species composition, dynamics, nutritive value of herbages, primary production and utilization of each grassland type are outlined. In the second part, the necessity to promote grassland far-ming and the possibility of its development are discussed based upon the land, population, food and agricultural structure.Strategies for the full exploitation of the grassland resources of China are proposed.