Biodiversity forms the foundation of a vast array of ecosystem services that critically contribute to human well-being and sustainable economic development. Plant diversity is a key component of biodiversity; moreover, it is an important indicator of the biodiversity status and complexity of plant community structure and function in a specific area. Plant species diversity is considered as the most directly and easily observable component of ecosystem diversity, and therefore, it has been extensively researched. Disturbance is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature and is regarded as the most important factor that contributes to plant species diversity. Wind disturbance is one of the most common natural disturbances in forest ecosystems. In 1986, a hurricane swept away a large area of primary forest on Changbai Mountain and caused widespread devastation. In the present study, we examined natural restoration 26 years after this wind disaster, by using contrastive analysis of plant species diversity in three forest types in the windthrow area and the corresponding undisturbed primary forest area (control). In addition, we evaluated the characteristics of vegetation restoration in the windthrow area. We showed that the richness and α diversity of tree species in a broadleaved and Korean pine mixed forest (BKPF) in the windthrow area did not differ significantly from those in the control area; on the other hand, the richness and α diversity of tree species in a spruce-fir forest (SFF) and Erman's birch forest (EBF) were significantly lower in the windthrow area than in the control area. Additionally, in comparison with the control area, the windthrow area exhibited a significant compositional change in dominant tree species in the BKPF, but no significant compositional change in dominant tree species in the SFF or EBF. In the undisturbed primary BKPF, the dominant tree species were Pinus koraiensis, Tilia amurensis, and other precious hardwood tree species. On the other hand, in the corresponding windthrow area, the dominant tree species were Populus davidiana and Betula platyphylla, which are the dominant tree species during the early-successional stage of BKPF. The dominant tree species in the SFF (in the undisturbed and windthrow areas) were Picea jezoensis and Abies nephrolepis, whereas the dominant tree species in the EBF (in the undisturbed and windthrow areas) was Betula ermanii. According to the species richness, Shannon diversity index, and Simpson dominance index, the tree species was BKPF > SFF > EBF. Hence, 26 years after the wind disaster, natural restoration was fastest in the BKPF and slowest in the EBF; the SFF showed an intermediate rate of natural restoration. For shrubs in the BKPF, the species richness and α diversity were lower in the windthrow area than in the control area; however, the difference was significant only for species richness. On the other hand, for shrubs in the SFF and EBF, the α diversity was significantly higher in the windthrow area than in the control area. For herbs in the BKPF and SFF, the α diversity was significantly lower in the windthrow area than in the control; on the other hand, for herbs in the EBF, the α diversity did not differ significantly between the windthrow area and the control area. Our results indicate that when species compositions in the undisturbed primary forest were used as a reference, tree species in the BKPF recovered well in the windthrow area, whereas shrubs and herbs showed low recovery rates. Tree species in the SFF and EBF showed low recovery rates in the windthrow area, whereas shrubs and herbs recovered well. Interestingly, a single species was dominant in the herb layer of the SFF, and the dominant species in the herb layer of the EBF did not differ significantly from those of the undisturbed primary forest. Our findings suggest that natural recovery of forest in the windthrow area is incomplete and that full recovery will require a prolonged period.