The spatial pattern of an Artemisia scoparia seedling population under three different soil conditions in the Ningxia desert steppe was determined by a photography positioning method. Its distribution pattern was analysed by using a complete spatial random model, a Poisson block model and a nested bipartite block model. The results show that (1) in the calcareous soil, the population of A. scoparia seedlings occurred on a small scale (0-2.85 m) while A. scoparia seedlings in the calcareous soil and sandy soil showed an aggregated distribution, with the increase in the size of the first presenting a random distribution (2.85-3.75 m), and then presenting a uniform distribution (3.75-5 m).In the aeolian sandy soil, the A. scoparia seedling population showed an aggregated distribution between 0-1.85 m, a random distribution between 1.85-2.35 m, and a uniform distribution when the scale was larger than 2.35 m. However, the population of A. scoparia seedlings in the weathered residual soil of bedrock showed a random distribution on nearly the entire scale and, (2) the seedlings of A. scoparia fit a Poisson cluster on weathered residual soil of bedrock meaning that there were no high-density small aggregations in the aggregation of the spatial pattern of the A. scoparia population. However, the seedlings of A. scoparia in aeolian sandy soil and calcareous soil fit the nested double-cluster, meaning that the small clumps with higher density were distributed in the large clumps. The formation of the spatial pattern of A. scoparia seedlings is closely related to soil heterogeneity and the formation mechanism of the spatial distribution pattern of A. scoparia seedlings can be explained by the analysis of the spatial pattern of the population.