Abstract: The Quruq Desert is an important part of the Taklimakan Desert, which is located to the east of the Tarim River. At present, there is little research on this desert. In this paper, the aeolian geomorphology and dune migration in the Quruq Desert was analyzed by using wind regime data and Google Earth satellite images. The results indicate that the Quruq Desert belong to low to intermediate wind energy environment. The resultant sand drift potential direction is from SW to WSW. Directional variability belongs to intermediate. There are two types of landforms:aeolian accumulation landforms and wind-eroded landform. Aeolian accumulation landforms include flat sand sheet, shrub-coppice dunes, asymmetric barchanoid ridges, barchans and barchanoid chains, compound barchans and compound barchanoid chains. Wind-eroded landform includes yardangs. The migration direction of barchan dunes in the western Quruq Desert was towards the WSW, approximately in accordance with the local resultant drift direction. The migration rate ranged from 9.5 to 37.8 m·a, showed obvious spatial variation, and depended on the local wind regimes, dune height, and dune density. The rate was negatively exponentially related to the dune height and dune density. Dune evolution and migration are complex processes controlled by interactions among many factors, and this complexity has shaped the rich types of aeolian landforms and their regional difference.

Key words: regional aeolian geomorphology, dune geomorphology, dune migration, Quruq Desert