Desertification is one of the most serious eco-environmental problems around Qinghai Lake. Based on GIS and RS, GIS analysis was used to obtain the information of spatial-temporal change and different pattern of desertification in each county around Qinghai Lake in four phases of 1976, 1987, 1995 and 2006. Using the function of intersect and overlay supported by ARCGIS, with analyzing attributes of vector RS images, we obtained transition data and established transfer matrix of land-use types in recent 30 years, besides, protracted land-use transition maps of all desertification classes. In further, we analyzed transition quantity and direction of desertification in each county, moreover, reconstructed the process of spatial-temporal evolution of desertification. The results are showed below: (1) it's the transition between desertified land and others but not in the desertified that played the main role in Gangcha and Gonghe County, while the transfer between desertified lands were greater than that with other land-use types in Haiyan County. (2) Extremely severe desertified land mainly distributes in Ketu and Sand Islands that belongs to Haiyan County, and moderate desertified land in riversides of Gangcha County, also, the light desertification expanded too rapidly to become the most desertified land-use type in the surrounding of Qinghai Lake since 1976. (3) By using relative change rate of desertified land, the regional variability rank from top to toe was Gangcha, Haiyan and Gonghe.