Abstract: Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in the rhizosphere of five dominant plants Tamari xchinensis , Phragmites communis , Suaeda glauca , Ael uropuslit toralis var. sinensis and Cirsium setosum grown in saline-alkaline soil of the Yellow River Delta were investigated on fixed sample sites from March 2000 to February 2001. AM fungi in the rhizosphere of the five plants were isolated. The result indicated that the diversity of AM fungi in saline-alkaline soil was quite low , especially in winter. Species richness and spore density were decreased by 18.0 % and 61.6 % , respectively , relative to those in summer. Differences were also observed in the dist ribution of AM fungi in different layers of soil.