Arid and semiarid areas account for one-third of the total global land, and vegetation of arid and semiarid areas is crucial for relieving and improving ecological crisis. However, plant growth is often limited by available water supplies in these areas. Understanding water sources and water use patterns of desert plants contributes to provide theoretical basis for improving eco-environment of arid and semiarid areas. Plants with different life forms absorb water from different sources. When plant water sources were reduced, plant growth and distribution will be accordingly changed. Therefore, research of plant water sources will help us to figure out the spatio- temporal patterns and dynamics of plants under the background of global change. In this study, four kinds of dominant desert shrubs in Golmud plot: Calligonum mongolicum, Sympegma regelii, Ceratoides latens and Ephedra przewalskii were selected as study materials. The technique of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes (deltaD and delta18D) was applied to quantitatively analyze and investigate the water sources of the four typical kinds of desert plants. On the premise that precipitation, river water, groundwater and soil water were separate factors that cannot be mutely transformed, the IsoSource model was used to calculate probable contributions of potential water sources to total plant water uptake of each sampling time in growing seasons. Results showed that: (1) The typical desert plants in the Qaidam Basin could absorb all kinds of water (river water, groundwater, rainfall and soil water etc,), while the major water source was soil water. (2) The water use patterns were diverse for different desert plants: Ceratoides latens, Ephedra przewalskii and Calligonum mongolicum mainly absorbed deep soil water and groundwater, but Sympegma regelii used soil water as their main water source.(3) The water use pattern of plants varied with time. At the beginning of growth season, all kinds of plants in Golmud mainly absorbed seasonal runoff and groundwater; In the mid-to-late period of growth season, Sympegma regelii mainly absorbed shallow soil water, while the three other desert plants such as Ceratoides latens, Ephedra przewalskii and Calligonum mongolicum mainly made the deep soil water and groundwater as their main sources of water.