Selecting the restoration site of Napahai, a representative degraded wetland in Northwest Yunnan Plateau, as test object, a comparative study was made on the changes of plant community species composition, water quality, and soil organic matter (OM) and total nitrogen (TN) contents within stream way, meadow, and lakeside before and after vegetation restoration, aimed to verify the effectiveness of integrated ecosystem restoration at catchment scale. In the early restoration period, the plants at the study site increased from 13 to 28 species, 12 to 22 genera, and 8 to 18 families, and the aboveground biomass increased from 318.56 g x m(-2) to 507.68 g x m(-2). The plant community structure and composition in lakeside and riverside had an obvious change before and after the vegetation restoration. Pollution-tolerant species diminished or disappeared, while the primary swamp communities of Sparganium stoloniferum and Batrachium bungei appeared after their disappearance for many years. After vegetation restoration, soil OM and TN contents increased from 28.85 g x kg(-1) and 0.79 g x kg(-1) to 50.26 g x kg(-1) and 1.45 g x kg(-1), respectively. The TN and TP contents and COD in the water decreased significantly, and their removal rates reached to 67.9%, 79.2%, and 71.2%, respectively. The transparency of water body increased to 179%, indicating that the structure and function of the wetland ecosystem had been substantially improved and restored. It was concluded that the vegetation restoration measures and technology used in closed or half-closed plateau wetland area were effective,