The growth and soil water status of five dominate forests in the sem-iarid region of Loess Plateau were studied. The analysis of the data show d that(1)the growth status of five dominate forests was: Prunus armeniaca> Pop ulus simonii;Prunus davidiana > Seabuckthorn > Caragana kor shinskii.(2) The analysis of different site types showed that soil water content among different site types was: sem-i shady> sem-isunny> sunny.Dif ferent slope directions had a similar changing trend. Soil water content descended with the rise of slope.Soil water content descended below 200 cm

which showed that root absorbing was decline. (3) The average soil water content of different artificial forests was about 8%

which showed the arid characteristic of soil. Totally speaking

soil water content of different artificial forests can be divided into two types. Prunus armeniaca

Seabuckthorn and Caragana korshinskii had a higher usage of soil water

but Pop ulus simonii and Prunus davidiana was lower. The strength of soil water usage was Car agana korshinskii > Seabuckthorn> Prunus armeniaca> Pop ulus simonii> Prunus davidiana.