AbstractThe relationship between plant species diversity and primary productivity has long been a hot topic in biodiversity research. We examined the relationship between species richness and productivity in four typical grasslands of northern China at different spatial scales. At the community scale, a positive correlation was found for six of seven communities, and a unimodal pattern was found only for one community (Stipa glareosa community). At large scale (vegetation type or landscape/region), a significant positive relationship was found. Species richness ranged from 4 to 35 species, and community above-ground productivity from 13 to 368 g·m^–2·yr^–1. The highest species richness and above-ground productivity were found in the alpine meadow community, followed by meadow steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe.