The anatomical structure of plant leaves changed with different grazing intensities. Desert steppe which located at the grassland-desert ecotoneis an ecosystem that is very sensitive to global changes. Grazing is one of the most important uses of desert grassland. Changes in livestock rates seriously affect the growth and development of plants in desert grasslands. S. breviflora is a desert steppe plant species found widely in central Asia, and is a major forage plant in the desert steppe region of Inner Mongolia. The response of leaf anatomical structure of S. breviflora to grazing intensity can provide a reference for studying the anti-interference of dominant species in desert steppe. In this study, a long-term (19 years) grazing field in S. breviflora desert steppe was used as the research area, and the leaves of the dominant species S. breviflora were used as the experimental materials. Fourteen anatomical structure indexes related to protective tissue, transport tissue, mechanical tissue and assimilation tissue of S. breviflora leaves under different grazing intensities (CK, LG, MG, HG) were measured to analyze the changes of leaf anatomical structure of S. breviflora with long-term different grazing intensities, and to explore the physiological adaptation and response of desert steppe plants to long-term grazing. The results showed that:(1) at the leaf level, S. breviflora adapted to long-term grazing disturbance by increasing leaf cross-sectional area and leaf thickness. (2) In terms of the protective tissue, compared with the control, the thickness of cuticle increased under heavy grazing, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). The proportion of cuticle thickness to leaf thickness increased with the increase of grazing intensity. (3) In terms of the conducting tissue, xylem area showed a decreasing trend with the increase of grazing intensity, while phloem area, dominant vessel area, and vascular bundle area showed an increasing trend with the increase of grazing intensity. There was no significant difference among different treatments (P>0.05), indicating that the response of productive tissues to grazing disturbance was relatively stable. (4) In terms of mechanical tissue, the area of sclerenchyma and the ratio of sclerenchyma to leaf area increased with the increase of grazing intensity. (5) In terms of assimilation tissue, the area of mesophyll tissue of S. breviflora leaves increased significantly with the increase of grazing intensity (P<0.05). Therefore, the study of plant anatomical structure in the desert steppe under long-term different grazing conditions can not only enrich the research content of grazing ecology, but also provide scientific basis for rational utilization and protection of fragile ecosystem.