Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are the main nutrient factors affecting ecosystem productivity. This study investigated the response of coupling relationship between N and P to environmental change during vegetation restoration, and assessed the effects of vegetation restoration on N and P accumulation and distribution in ecosystem. According to the restoration gradient, four fixed plots were respectively established in four distinct plant communities:4-5 years scrub-grassland, 10-12 years shrubs, 45-46 years Pinus massoniana coniferous and broadleaved mixed forest, and >90 years evergreen broad-leaved forest by using the space-for-time substitution method. The community biomass was estimated by using the total harvesting method to establish the relative growth equation of organ biomass of main tree species. The samples of vegetation layer (leaves, branches, stems and roots), litter layer (un-decomposed, semi-decomposed and decomposed), and soil layer (0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40 cm) were collected to determine total N and total P contents, and estimated the N and P storage of each component of ecosystem. The results showed that the N and P storage in vegetation layer increased with vegetation restoration, in which the growth rate of N storage was slow first and then fast, while the P storage presented slow-fast-slow. The aboveground (leaves, branches, stems) and underground (roots) parts showed allometric growth. As vegetation restoration, the N and P storage in litter layer increased first and then decreased, and the growth rates were fast first and then slow. The N and P storage in soil layer increased significantly with vegetation restoration (P<0.05), in which the growth rate of N storage showed fast-slow-fast, while the P storage was slow first and then fast. From 4-5 years scrub-grassland to > 90 years evergreen broad-leaved forest, ecosystem N and P storage increased by 6031.5 kg/hm² and 454.7 kg/hm², with the increase ranges of 231.5% and 41.1%, respectively. In different restoration periods, soil N and P storage were the primary component in ecosystem, accounting for 87.27%-98.99% and 96.5%-99.9% of N and P storage in ecosystem, respectively. The vertical distribution pattern of N and P storage in ecosystem varied with vegetation restoration, among which the contribution rate of N and P storage in vegetation layer increased, but that in soil layer decreased, and that in litter layer changed little. The contents of total N and total P in vegetation layer, litter layer and soil layer had significantly positively correlation (P<0.01). During vegetation restoration, N and P contents in vegetation layer, litter layer and soil layer developed synergistically, but the change of P lagged behind that of N. Therefore, reasonable management measures can be adopted to promote vegetation restoration, improve the biomass of vegetation layer and the coupling and balance of N and P, so as to enhance the nutrient fixation potential of ecosystem, and facilitate the efficient and coordinated utilization of nutrients.