With increases in global warming intensity, the frequency and duration of droughts are showing a clear upward trend, and the global terrestrial extreme drought area is expanding, particularly on the Eurasian and African continents. Hulun Buir grassland is an important wind-fixing and water-reserving ecological functioning area in northern China. However, due to the superimposition of climate change effects, such as the frequency of drought, and human activities, the grasslands have gradually degraded to a simpler community structure with reduced species diversity, intensified desertification, and increased pests and diseases. Based on monthly precipitation and temperature data from four meteorological stations in the Hulun Buir grassland from 1960 to 2017, the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) was calculated. The Mann-Kendall mutation test, Morlet wavelet analysis, and R/S analysis were used to analyze the drought change characteristics and trends on both annual and seasonal scales in the Hulun Buir grassland over the past 58 years, and the SPEI index was verified by the actual disaster events in the area. The results show that:1) between 1960 and 2017, the temperature of the Hulun Buir grassland increased gradually at a significance level of 0.05, while precipitation showed a slight decrease. In addition, the seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation are different. Among them, summer precipitation is gradually decreasing, while the other seasons are increasing at different rates. In addition to winter temperatures, the interannual temperature changes in other seasons showed an upward trend at a significance level of 0.05. Among them, the spring temperature rose at the fastest rate, reaching 0.46℃×10 a^-1, followed by summer (0.39℃×10 a^-1). 2) On the annual scale, the SPEI index of this region showed a downward trend with a tendency of -0.218×10a^-1 (P < 0.01). 1998 is the year of drought intensified in the region, and there is a trend of persistent drought on the 11 a scale for the future; On the seasonal scale, the winter SPEI index increased significantly, and there is a trend of continuous wetness on the 17 a scale for the future. However, the SPEI index in spring, summer, and autumn showed a downward trend, and there was a trend of persistent drought on the 22 a, 9 a and 15 a scales, respectively; 3) The frequency of moderate drought occurrences is the highest among different years and seasons, and that of extreme drought is the lowest. At the beginning of the 21st century, the frequency of drought, especially severe drought and extreme drought, was significantly higher than for the past four decades. 4) Summer and autumn were the seasons with the most frequent occurrences of severe and extreme droughts, respectively. 5) The SPEI index can well characterize the drought characteristics of the Hulun Buir grassland.