Abstract: Five main afforestation shrubs （Tamarix ramosissima, Amorpha fruticosa, Caragana korshinskii, Haloxylon ammodendron and Hedysarum scoparium） were selected in arid sandy area of Ningxia. SNF water-retaining agent （French）and ＂Tsinghua Lvbao＂ efficient drought-resistant water-retaining agent （Beijing）were used to make field afforestation test by using root-dipping method, so as to screen out the best method for enhancing the survival rate of seedlings under drought conditions. And the contents of crude protein （CP）, neutral detergent fiber（NDF）, acid detergent fiber（ADF）, calcium and phosphorus in five kinds of shrubs were determined. The results showed that the survival rate of seedlings under the root-dripping treatment with SNF water-retaining agent was 39.60%, which increased by 79.27% than that of CK and increased by 44.90% than that of ＂Tsinghua Lvbao＂ water-retaining agent. Root-dripping treatment with SNF water-retaining agent could not only enhance the afforestation survival rate, but it could also save the amount of water-retaining agent. This method was simple and suitable for large-scale afforestation. The ratio of crude protein to fiber in 5 kinds of shrubs in order was C. korshinskii （0.46） 〉A. fruticosa （0.35）〉 H. ammodendron（ 0.24 ）〉 H. scoparium （0.22）〉T. ramosi.ssima（ 0.17 ）. C. korshinskii,A, fruticosa and H. ammodendron were high-quality feed resources.