The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region has long been regarded as the starting area and amplifier for our country and the global climate change,but many studies have shown that the magnitude of climate change in the northwest arid region of China cannot be ignored. Based on this,using the linear trend analysis,the sliding t test,the Mann-Kendall mutation detection and the Sen slope method,the characteristics of temperature on spatial distribution pattern and the multiple-time scale variability are analyzed by the monthly temperature data of 130 meteorological stations in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region and northwest arid region of China during the 1960- 2015. The results show that: On the whole,the annual mean temperature change rate of northwest arid region of China[0. 32 ℃·(10a)~(-1)]was higher than Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region[0. 29 ℃·(10a)~(-1)]during 1960-2015. However,the temperature variations of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau region and the northwest arid region of China were distinct in different time periods. The annual mean temperature change rate of northwest arid region of China[0. 22 ℃·(10a)~(-1)]was far higher than Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region[0. 14 ℃·(10a)~(-1)]during the time period of 1960-1997. At the same time,the temperature variation of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region had a significant rising trend,at a rate of 0. 22 ℃·(10a)~(-1) during 1998-2015,and the temperature variation of northwest arid region of China had a slight cooling trend,at a rate of -0. 02 ℃·(10a)~(-1) during 1998-2015. The regions with temperature rise significantly in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region included the Qaidam basin and the southwestern region of the plateau. The regions with temperature rise significantly in northwest arid region of China included the northern region of Xinjiang and the western region of Inner Mongolia. The interdecadal variation of temperature in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region and northwest arid region of China were characterized by the relatively cold phase during 1960s-1980s,and the relatively warm phase after 1990s. In addition,mutation analysis indicated that the temperature of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region and northwest arid region of China began to grow in the same time,but the temperature mutation time of northwest arid region of China was in 1993,and the temperature mutation time of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region was in 1994.