Abstract: To promote the restoration of the ecosystem in Muli mining area, Qinghai province, and achieve a virtuous ecological cycle, this study took Potentilla fruticosa, Salix gordejevii, and their congeneric relatives Potentilla glabra and Salix cheilophila as research objects. The contents of malondialdehyde, proline and soluble protein in leaves under low temperature stress were determined to compare the differences in cold resistance; meanwhile, during the cultivation in the mining area, Potentilla and Salix plants with strong cold resistance were selected respectively to explore the effects of different cold protection measures and site conditions on their survival rate. The results showed that under low temperature stress, the order of cold resistance of the four plants from strong to weak was Potentilla fruticosa, Potentilla glabra, Salix gordejevii, and Salix cheilophila; in the mining area cultivation, the average survival rate of Potentilla fruticosa was higher than that of Salix gordejevii, and its growth was better. Therefore, compared with Salix gordejevii, Potentilla fruticosa is more suitable for growing in the mining area and being used for ecological restoration of the mining area.