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This paper presents the results of a study of endangered plants using remote sensing data. The aim of this study was to investigate and assess spatial distribution changes and temporal coverage changes of the following endangered rare plants: Tetraena mongolica, Helianthemum soongolicum, Reaumuria trigyna, Reaumuria soongorica, Potaninia mongolica, and Ammopiptanthus mongolicus, in the West Ordos Plateau National Conservation Region in Inner Mongolia, China. Using ETM+ (August 1999) remote sensing data, DEM data, and data from 25 field samples collected from Gangdeger Mountain in July 1999, digital maps highlighting endangered plant populations (1994) were processed using the ‘MPH feature extraction method’ to view the current spatial distribution pattern of the endangered plants. The ‘radiometric normalization’ and ‘vegetation change detection’ methods were then used to reveal temporal coverage changes of the endangered plants, using TM (September 1987) and ETM+ (August 1999) data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]