Abstract: The Neogene was the period when the global environment had significant variations, and the formation and evolvement of the Tibetan Plateau were the important driving force for the changes of the Asian and even global environment. To recognize the distribution patterns and ecological characteristics of the Neogene mammals from the Tibetan to Mongolian plateaus is an effective method to know the alteration of the Tibetan Plateau’s uplift to the terrain and climate in China as well as the influence to the global climatic model. Mammals are very sensitive for climatic and environmental changes, and there are advantaged Neogene mammalian fossils in China. The Linxia Basin and central Mongolian Plateau are situated respectively in the sedimentary and affected regions of the Tibetan Plateau’s uplift, and there are well-exposed deposits to reflect the uplift and paleoclimate and very abundant mammalian fossils in the two regions. The result of comparative studies in the Linxia Basin and central Mongolian Plateau will have scientific significance to understand a series of important global environmental and ecological events during the Neogene, especially the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, the formation of the Asian monsoon, and biotic dispersal and migration.

Key words: Mammal, Neogene, Climate and environment, Tibetan Plateau, Comparative study