Existing studies showed that a persistently increasing trend of aridity will dominate the global climate change in the future. Shrubs, which are widely distributed in China, with their excellent drought resistance and tolerance may play more important-roles in the global ecosystem function. In this study, we calculated a drought index (Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, SPEI) to analyze shrubland drought dynamics in China from 1961 to 2013. We found that the SPEI of shrublands in China decreased significantly and the trend was significantly changed in 1992, indicating that shrublands in China experienced a persistent drought period that intensified in recent years. We also analyzed the effects of SPEI variation on EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index, EVI), and found that different shrubland types responded differently to SPEI variation. Summer SPEI affected high-cold desert, temperate desert, and temperate deciduous EVI positively, but affected subalpine evergreen and subtropical evergreen EVI negatively. Temperate deciduous EVI responded positively to spring SPEI, but negatively to autumn and winter SPEI. Furthermore, subtropical evergreen EVI was also positively affected by autumn SPEI. In terms of location, the shrublands in Northern China were more sensitive to drought dynamics than shrublands in the South. Additionally, shrublands in the humid area of Southern China showed strong drought resistance. Learning the response of shrublands EVI to drought dynamics will contribute to the understanding of ecosystem process variation in the background of the global persistently increasing trend of aridity in the future.