Shrub encroachment in grasslands profoundly affects the structure and function of communities by altering species interactions. However, current research about the influences of shrubs on the uptake and accumulation of the mineral elements in herbaceous vegetation is still obviously insufficient. We selected four study sites along an aridity gradient in the Inner Mongolia grassland, and compared and analyzed the differences in leaf mineral element concentrations and aboveground biomass production of grasses and forbs outside and inside canopies of Caragana microphylla shrub patches. We aimed to clarify the effects of drought and shrubs on leaf element accumulation of herbaceous plants in communities, and revealed the interactions between shrubs and herbs with respect to utilization characteristics and corresponding variations along the aridity gradient. The results showed that:1) with the increasing aridity, the aboveground biomass of the forbs inside canopies of shrub patches remained constant, but the K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn and Cu concentrations in their leaves increased significantly (P<0.05). The results indicated that forbs in communities resisted and adapted to drought stress by increasing the levels of mineral elements in their leaves. 2) With the increasing aridity, the effects of shrubs on biomass, leaf Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn accumulation of forbs as well as on leaf P accumulation of herbs shifted from negative (RII<0) and neutral (RII=0) to positive (RII>0). The results were consistent with the stress-gradient hypothesis, suggesting that the facilitation effect of shrubs on herbaceous plants increased with drought stress. 3) The "fertile islands" effect was the main mechanism driving the positive impact of shrubs on the accumulation of elements in herbaceous plants. Our results reveal the importance of the facilitation effect of Caragana shrubs in maintaining vegetation species coexistence and ecosystem functioning stability in arid and semiarid grasslands of the Inner Mongolia.