Originality-Significance Statement
The Taklimakan Desert is the largest desert in China and the second-largest mobile desert in the world. The detailed microbial ecology of the Taklimakan Desert has been poorly investigated to date. Therefore, a comprehensive investigation is necessary for the taxonomic diversity of bacterial communities in the Taklimakan Desert. This work investigated the physicochemical parameters and bacterial communities of 48 sand samples along to altitude gradient. The obtained taxonomic data revealed significant differences in the relative abundance of bacterial communities and populations among the samples. Altitude and pH were the primary factors that shaped the bacterial communities in the desert. Studying bacterial diversity and community assembly processes along an altitude gradient are necessary for deeply understanding the fundamental ecological processes in desert ecosystems.