Phosphorus (P) cycle is critical for maintaining biodiversity, structural and functional stability, elemental balance and natural resources for sustainable development in desert ecosystems. To date, by the published works referring to P cycle in desert ecosystems worldwide, we found that studies of P cycle covering desert ecosystems of China is much less comprehensive in particular in elucidating biotic and abiotic driving mechanisms of P cycle. Thereby, we reviewed those shreds of publishes to produce an advance that focused on the P input and output, the mechanisms of adsorbed and transported P by plants and their actions on P cycle, the contribution of organic secretions from biological soil crusts (BSC) on P cycle, and the process of P cycle how to respond to climatic changes. Here, seven impending scientific questions need to be addressed in future studies, including (1) to reveal the chemical fractions, allocation and dynamic balance of P in desert ecosystems; (2) to elucidate the driving functions of soil microorganisms acting on plants uptake available P; (3) to evaluate the potential effects and ecological risks of alien plants acting on P cycle; (4) to explore the mechanisms of gene-regulating P cycle in the fungi-root system by using the approaches of molecular biology and genomics; (5) to explore microbial secretions, soil phosphatase (including phosphomonoesterases, phosphodiesterases, triphosphoric monoester hydrolases), enzymes acting on phosphoryl-containing anhydrides and P-N bonds how to regulate the biological processes of P cycle; (6) to explain the transformation process between organic P and inorganic P under climatic changes; and (7) to quantify P cycle path and uncover the mechanism of P cycle in regulating desert system stability by using isotope tracing and ecology stoichiometry.