Tree-ring samples from Schrenk spruce (Picea schrenkiana Fisch. et Mey.) were collected from high-and low-elevations of the eastern Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang. Three detrending methods (smoothing spline, negative exponential function, and regional curve) were used to develop tree-ring width chronologies. The characteristics of these chronologies and the relationship between radial growth and climate change at different elevations were compared. The results showed that (1) detrending method had little effect on the reliability of the chronologies, and the chronologies from low elevations contained more reliable climate change information. (2) The radial growth at high elevations positively correlated with the mean temperature from June to September; the correlation coefficient for the standardized tree-ring chronology and temperature in July was 0.553 (P < 0.01, n=58). The temperature in the summer may be the main limiting factor for the radial growth of these trees at high elevation. Meanwhile, the radial growth of trees at low elevation was positively correlated with precipitation in spring, and negatively correlated with mean temperature in the spring. Higher temperatures and lower precipitation in the spring combined to cause a drought in the early growing season. Furthermore, the drought in the spring limited the radial growth of trees. (3) The regional curve method retained more low-frequency information in the tree-ring standardized chronology, but the advantage was not obvious. There were higher correlation coefficients in the low-frequency of the chronologies between high elevation and low elevations. In summary, the negative exponential function method may be more suitable than the smoothing spline and regional curve methods for dendroclimatology studies on the eastern Tianshan Mountains.