The hydraulic system plays an important role in supporting plant growth and development in arid and semiarid regions. In this study, we explored the relationship between vessel anatomical traits and growth characteristics of herbaceous species. We used paraffin sectioning method to make taproot sections, and acquired the characteristics of vessel anatomical structures (including number of vessels, vessel fraction, mean vessel area, mean hydraulic conductivity, and hydraulic diameter) in a fixed area. Pearson correlation and stepwise regression methods were used to analyze the relationship between vessel anatomical traits and plant growth characteristics (age, growth rate, and mean height). The results indicated that (1) the growth rate was significantly negatively correlated with vessel number (R=-0.494, P<0.01) and vessel fraction (R=-0.255, P<0.05), whilist, significantly positively correlated with mean vessel area (R=0.274, P<0.05), mean hydraulic conductivity (R=0.263, P<0.05), and hydraulic diameter (R=0.245, P<0.05), which may indicate that fast-growing herbs form larger and fewer vessels to increase the hydrualic efficiency, while slow-growing herbs form smaller and more vessels to increase hydraulic safety. (2) Mean height was significantly negatively correlated with vessel number (R=-0.354, P<0.01), whilist, significantly positively correlated with mean vessel area (R=0.293, P<0.05), mean hydraulic conductivity (R=0.289, P<0.05), and hydraulic diameter (R=0.278, P<0.05), which may suggest that in order to maintain the mechanical strength, high plants usually form few vessels to compensate for large vessels, while short plants form smaller and more vessels to increase hydraulic safety.