The aim was to explore the effects of grazing on the formation of the spatial pattern of elm growth in a sparse woodland steppe. A point pattern method was used to analyze elm trees within different diameter classes in both grazed and fenced plots, located in Horqin Sandy Land, China. Effects of grazing on the formation of the spatial pattern of elm were not reported. This study is helpful for understanding the formation of the spatial pattern of the elm population in sparse woodland steppes.