The method of field survey and comparative sampling plots was employed to investigate the ecological adapting strategies of the typical stolon plant in different habitats and the influences of alpine meadow degradation to the clonal growing characteristics of Potentilla anserina. The purpose of this study also include that examine the hypothesis of habitat adaptation and provide the process of the degrading mechanism in alpine meadow. The experiment sets was located in the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow rivers. The results suggested that the obvious change of plant community structure and function, soil properties influenced the clonal growing behavior and morphological characteristics of P. anserina in heavily degraded meadow. The stolon number and the branching intensity of P. anserina were increased at the degraded alpine meadow. The genet and ramet of P. anserina at the non-degraded alpine meadow were higher than those at the degraded alpine meadow. The genet root of P. anserina at the degraded alpine meadow was deep than that at the non-degraded alpine meadow. There was no significant difference of genet leaf number at the two sampling plots. The ramet root of P. anserina at the degraded alpine meadow was shorter than that at the non-degraded alpine meadow. The ramet leaf number at the degraded alpine meadow was more than that at the non-degraded alpine meadow significantly. The spacer length, spacer thickness and stolon length of P. anserina at the non-degraded alpine meadow were larger than those of P. anserina at the degraded alpine meadow. The average spacer number of P. anserina at the non-degraded alpine meadow was less than that of P. anserina at the degraded alpine meadow. With the increase of stolon number of P. anserina clone, the energy allocation of P. anserina for the clonal reproduction were increased slowly at the two sampling plots. The energy allocation of P. anserina for the clonal reproduction at the non-degraded alpine meadow was more than that at the degraded alpine meadow. The dry mass proportion of the genet to the total biomass of the clone at the non-degraded alpine meadow was slightly less than that at the degraded alpine meadow. The proportions of the ramet and the stolon biomass to the total biomass of the P. anserina clone at the non-degraded alpine meadow were larger than that at the degraded alpine meadow. The influences of alpine meadow degradation on the clonal growing characteristics of Potentilla anserina was closely correlated to the habitat change which was caused by the change of plant community structure and functions. All the influences mentioned above were the responses of P. anserina to the resource and habitat variation, were the most reasonable situation to the resource utilization and the results of adaptation as well. The influence was also benefit to exert the potency of clonal reproduction of P. anserina. The research result proved the evidence of the hypothesis of habitat adaptation.