Salsola is one of the most abundant angiosperm genera in the arid area of Xinjiang. Most species of Salsola are pioneer species and constructive species in saline-alkali and desert areas, and have great ecological values for vegetation construction and restoration in the arid area of Northwest China. In this study, we integrated the point grid method and species distribution model to construct the distribution patterns of species richness (SR), weighted endemism (WE), and corrected weighted endemism (CWE) based on 741 occurrence points of 33 species of Salsola in Xinjiang. By selecting 19 ecological factors including 6 types of environmental energy, water resource availability, climate seasonality, habitat heterogeneity, soil conditions and historical climate change, we explored the effects of heterogeneity of environment on Salsola genus species richness based on a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. The results show that:(1) the species richness constructed based on the actual points and species distribution models are consistent, showing a fragmented distribution trend of high in the north and low in the south, and high in the west and low in the east, but the modeled results are more continuous than the results of point pattern method. The high-value areas of species richness are mainly distributed in the southern margin of the Junggar Basin, the Junggar Xibu Shandi, the western end of the Tianshan Mountains, the southern edge of the Tianshan Mountains southern vein, and the southern margin of the Tarim Basin; (2) the distribution patternof the weighted endemism index and the corrected weighted endemism index are differs from the distribution pattern of richness. The maximum value is concentrated in the southern margin of the Junggar Basin, the Ili River Valley and the southwestern margin of the Tarim Basin; (3) The results of the GWR model show that the altitude variation, soil pH and the driest month precipitation are the constraints of Salsola genus in Xinjiang.