The objectives of this study were to characterize the C:N:P stoichiometry of the "plant-litter-soil" continuum and the nutrient resorption efficiency of plants, which contributes to a better understanding of nutrient cycling and stability in the Ziwuling forest-ecosystems on the Loess Plateau of China. Two types of natural secondary forest sites were selected in the Ziwuling region of the Loess Plateau and the contents of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations in plants, litter and soils were detected. In the present study, the ecological stoichiometry of the plants-litter-soil continuum, for two types of natural secondary forest——Quercus wutaishanica and Betula platyphylla, shows leaf C, N and P concentrations averaged 468.6, 17.1, and 2.1g/kg, respectively; The C, N and P concentrations were 457.3, 12.5, 1.6 g/kg in the litter-fall; the soil C, N and P content averaged 17.6, 1.4, and 0.5 g/kg. The type Ⅱ (standardised major axis, SMA) regression slope for N vs. P in leaves of B. platyphylla was higher than 1 (P=0.07), indicating an N investment accomplished by P enrichment in fresh leaves. In contrast, the slope for N vs. P in litterfall of B. platyphylla was statistically < 1 (P < 0.05), and the type Ⅱ regression slope for N vs. P in litterfall of the two species was statistically < 1 (P < 0.05) demonstrating an uneven loss velocity in the litterfall unit N and P content. This means that the process of litterfall decomposition accompanying the loss of P was not lead to the N loss. A positive correlation was observed between litterfall N and soil N (P < 0.01) among two forest types, indicated an increases in the soil N pool as affected by litterfall decomposition. Leaf and soil P was more closely related to each other than either one was to litterfall P. And a rapid mineralization of soil organic matter occurred in both natural secondary forests in the Ziwuling region of the Loess Plateau. The C:N ratio in Q. wutaishanica was 26.7 in litter, which was much lower than the ratio of 44.9 observed for B. platyphylla (P < 0.05). The mean leaf N:P ratio for the two types of natural secondary forest was 7.9, which was below national and global scales found in other research, indicating that the two types of natural secondary forest were N limited. Q. wutaishanica was restricted also by N, but it did not have a high N resorption efficiency, which could be attributed to an inherent characteristic of the species.