Geostat istics was used in studying spatial variation of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, pH and electrical conductivity in a degraded sandy grassland ecosystem under two different grazing patterns, heavy grazing (HGR) and moderate grazing (MGR) to examine effect of grazing intensity on spatial heterogeneity of the properties.One hundred soil samples were taken from the soil layer 0~15 cm in depth of a grid of 10 m×10 m under each grazing pattern.The results showed that soil organic carbon and total nitrogen contents were significant lower and their coefficients of variation significant higher under HGR than under MGR.Geostatist ical analysis of soil heterogeneity revealed that organic carbon and total nitrogen show strong spatial dependence with exponential or spherical semivariograms on the studied scale.87.2%~88.2% of the variation in soil organic carbon was found within the distance from 22.2~29.4 m, and 65.5%~85.9% of the variation in total nitrogen was found within the distance from 25.5~39 m.The distance of spatial autocorrelation in soil organic carbon and total nitrogen was greater under HGR than under MGR, suggesting that overgrazing resulted in an increase in soil heterogeneity.Soil pH and electrical conductivity did not show spatial autocorrelation within the studied scale, and they were probably controlled by a bigger scale and process.The distribution of vegetation patchs and the bare sand ones resulting from grazing was the main cause of the increase in soil heterogeneity and indicated extent of desertification of the grassland.The changes in heterogeneity in the distribution of soil properties may in turn influence restoration process and distribution pattern of the vegetation.