The foliar stable carbon isotope compositions (δ13C) of nine dominant species in seven sites, Yangling, Yongshou, Tongchuan, Fuxian, Ansai, Mizhi, and Shenmu, standing from the south to the north in the Loess Plateau of China were studied. The results showed that foliar δ13C values ranged from -22.61 to -30.73 ‰ with an average of -27.23 ‰ in 141 C3 plant samples collected from the Loess Plateau. Foliar δ13C values varied significantly (p<0.001) among the nine C3 species, which were Pinus tabulaeformis Carr., Robinia pseudoacacia L., Zizyphus jujuba Mill. var. spinosus Hu., Rubus parvifolius L., Hippophae rhamnoides L., Caragana korshinskii Kom., Lespedeza davurica (Laxm.) Schindl., Artemisia sacrorum Ledeb. var. incana Mattf., and Agropyron cristatum Gaertn. Comparatively, R. pseudoacacia, H. rhamnoides, and C. korshinskii had much higher δ13C values than the other six species, while A. sacrorum had the lowest δ13C value. There was no significant difference in foliar δ13C value among five species, P. tabulaeformis, Z. jujuba, R. parvifolius, L. davurica, and A. cristatum. Considering the life forms categorized from nine C3 species, trees and shrubs had significantly higher δ13C values than herbs (p<0.001). The deciduous tree R. pseudoacacia had much higher δ13C value than the evergreen tree P. tabulaeformis (p<0.01). Among the four shrubs, foliar δ13C values in H. rhamnoides and C. korshinskii were markedly higher (p<0.01) than those in Z. jujuba and R. parvifolius. Among the three herbs, L. davurica and A. cristatum had significantly higher δ13C values than A. sacrorum (p<0.01). Leguminous species such as R. pseudoacacia, C. korshinskii, and L. davurica as well as a non-leguminous species with nitrogen-fixation capacity, H. rhamnoides, had higher δ13C values than other non-leguminous species with same life-form. The mean δ13C value increased by about 7 % from Yangling in the south to Shenmu in the north as climatic drought increased, and foliar δ13C values differed much (p<0.001) among the seven sites. For nine species in the Loess Plateau, foliar δ13C values were significantly and negatively (p<0.001) correlated with the mean annual precipitation, moreover, an increase of 100 mm in annual precipitation would result in a decrease of 1.2 ‰ in δ13C value. and S.-X. Zheng, Z.-P. Shangguan.