The objective of this study is to clarify the changes in the composition and quantitative characteristics of ant communities during sand fixation and their effects on soil physical and chemical properties. In this study, the Tengger Desert sand-fixing vegetation area was used as the research area, the 5-year, 8-year, 34-year and 57-year sand-fixing vegetation areas were used as the research plots, and the mobile sand land was used as the control. We measured the number of individuals and groups of ant communities in different plots and the physical and chemical properties of soil inside and outside the ant mound, and analyzed the distribution characteristics of ant communities in different plots and their relationship with soil factors. The results showed that: (1) the dominant group in the ant community in the sand-fixing vegetation area was Formica cunicularia, accounting for 78.87%. (2) The density of ants in the 57-year sand-fixing vegetation area was significantly lower than that in the 8-year and 34-year sand-fixing vegetation areas (P <0.05). The number of ant groups in the 5-year sand-fixing vegetation area was significantly lower than that in other vegetation areas (P < 0.05). (3) Soil water content, soil conductivity, soil silt and clay, and soil total potassium showed the significant differences between ant mounds and non-ant mounds only in the 57-year sand-fixing vegetation area. Specifically, soil water content, soil clay, and soil total potassium showed that ant mounds were significantly higher than non-ant mounds, while soil conductivity and soil silt showed that ant mounds were significantly lower than non-ant mounds. The soil pH showed that the anthills in the sand-fixing vegetation area were significantly higher than the non-anthills only in 8 years and 57 years (P < 0.05). The soil organic carbon showed that the anthills in the sand-fixing vegetation area were significantly higher than the non-anthills only in 8 years. The soil total nitrogen showed that the anthills in the sand-fixing vegetation area were significantly higher than the non-anthills only in 8 years and 34 years (P < 0.05). (4) The ant community composition was significantly correlated with soil particle size, electrical conductivity, pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and available phosphorus content. Partial redundancy analysis results results showed that the number of ant groups was the main limiting factor affecting soil physical and chemical properties in sand-fixing areas. The composition of ant communities in different sand-fixing times in Tengger Desert was quite different. More abundant ant communities were conducive to improving soil texture, promoting the development of soil physical and chemical properties in a good direction, and promoting the restoration of desert ecosystem.