Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are beneficial for enhancing nutrient uptake of plant. However, it remains unclear whether there are significant differences among various AMF species in promoting plant nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) uptake and reducing nutrient losses. Therefore, this study focused on Cunninghamia lanceolata, a major host plant of AMF. Different AMF species, including Glomus mosseae (Gm), Glomus intraradices (Gi), and Claroideoglomus etunicatum (Ce), were inoculated to investigate their effects on N and P uptake and losses in Cunninghamia lanceolata at different time after inoculation. Results showed that AMF significantly increased the height, root length, dry weight, root volume, root surface area, and root colonization rate of the Cunninghamia lanceolata seedlings. Glomus mosseae was more effective than the other two AMF species in enhancing root length, root surface area, and mycorrhizal colonization rate of Cunninghamia lanceolata seedlings. Inoculation of AMF improved N and P uptake. Specifically, Glomus mosseae inoculation could promote plant N uptake most compared with other two AMF inoculation. The promoting effect of different AMF species on plant P uptake mainly occurred at the early stage of AMF inoculation. Moreover, Glomus intraradices was more beneficial for P uptake compared with the other two AMF species. AMF inoculation reduced the losses of NO_3-^-N and NH₄₊^-N in the soil, and this effect was most pronounced in plant inoculated with Glomus intraradices. Additionally, AMF effectively decreased P losses from the soil. Compared with other AMF species, Glomus mosseae significantly reduced the losses of total P, particulate P, organic P, and soluble P in the early stage after AMF inoculation, while Claroideoglomus etunicatum significantly reduced inorganic P and soluble P losses in the later stage of AMF inoculation. Overall, Glomus mosseae was more beneficial for enhancing N uptake of Cunninghamia lanceolata, whereas Glomus intraradices was more effective in promoting P uptake. The effects of AMF inoculation on soil N and P losses depended on AMF species and the timing of inoculation.