This paper studied the effects of grazing disturbance on the specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf area, and leaf dry mass of dominant plant species Cynanchum komarovii, Euphorbia esula, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, and Lespedeza potaninii in desert steppe of Ningxia, Northwest China, aimed to approach the responses and adaptation strategies of different plant species in desert steppe to the environmental change. With the decrease of grazing intensity, the specific leaf area (SLA) of the four dominant species presented a decreasing trend. Under different grazing intensities, the SLA of the four dominant species had significant differences, while the LDMC didn't. There existed definite differences in the interrelationships of leaf traits among different plant species. For C. komarovii and G. uralensis, there was a significant negative relationship between SLA and LDMC, for E. esula and L. potaninii, there was a positive relationship between the two parameters. The changes in the leaf traits in response to grazing intensity suggested that the SLA could be more sensitive to the environmental change than LDMC, and the SLA could be used as an indicator of resources use strategies of plants in desert steppe environments.