The objective of this study was to examine the effects of different forage species on soil arthropod communities in alpine ecosystems. Six grasslands dominated by six different forage species, viz., Elymus nutans, Elymus sibiricus, Poa annua, Festuca ovina, Avena sativa, and Medicago sativa, and a natural grassland (NG) were selected for study in July 2016, in Hongyuan county, northwest Sichuan. Two plots measuring 2 m×4 m each were setup in each type of grassland. In the each areas,three sampling points were selected by the diagonal method and mixed soil samples in the 0-15 cm layer were collected. and soil arthropods were extracted from soil samples for 48 h at 38℃ using the Tullgren method in the laboratory. (1)There were significant differences in soil arthropod community density, group number, Shannon diversity index and Simpson dominance index among the seven grasslands (P < 0.05 or 0.01).The community density, group number and Shannon diversity index showed that Avena sativa were significantly higher than Elymus nutans and Medicago sativa, while the Simpson index was opposite. There was no significant difference in soil arthropod community index among other grassland types. Sex.(2) The results of canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that the composition of soil arthropod community was mainly affected by pH, TN, N/P, C/N, and AK, among other parameters; and the soil arthropod community was positively correlated with pH in Elymus nutans,with TN and N/P in P. annua grassland, and with K in natural grassland.(3) The regression analysis between soil arthropod diversity indexshowed that only total K had a significant positive correlation(P < 0.05 or 0.01).The effects of cultivating different forage species on the community structure, abundance, and diversity of soil arthropods varied among the seven grasslands in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Clutivating Medicago sativa and some other forage species will reduce the diversity of soil arthropods,and not benefit biodiversity conservation and the sustainable utilization of grassland ecosystems in the long term,although the contradictions between forage and livestock can be alleviated to some extent.We strongly recommend that a comprehensive ecological assessment should be conducted before planting forage species.