Chinese solar greenhouse played an important role in Xinjiang protected horticulture. However, the land in Xinjiang is mainly “unutilized land” type, and the cultivated land resource is seriously insufficient, the development of Xinjiang protected agriculture was promoted towards Gobi, saline and alkali, desert and other non-cultivated land. In recent years, the desert greenhouse has begun to take shape. In order to clarify the thermal performence of solar greenhouse in desert areas, and provide a reference for the improvement of solar greenhouse structure and crop management in desert areas, the changes of light and temperature environment in the greenhouse under the special environment of desert hinterland (79.84°E, 37.37°N) were tested and analysed in this paper. The results showed that the light intensity inside and outside the desert greenhouse were too large. Under sunny day conditions, the average light intensity was 24 204 lx and the maximum was 48 787 lx. The light intensity over 20 000 lx lasted for 5-6 h. The temperature of the air and ground in the greenhouse fluctuated greatly. The average difference between the highest temperature and the lowest temperature was 26.6 ℃, the maximum was 32.7 ℃. The ground surface temperature above 30 ℃ lasted for 4-5 h and the maximum was 40.3 ℃ in February, which showed the characteristics of “temperature is too high at noon, low at night, and temperature difference between day and night is large”. The surface temperature of the culture substrate was more moderate than the surface temperature fluctuation of sand. The lowest temperature was 15.9 ℃, the highest temperature was 27.9 ℃, and the temperature fluctuation of the ground and the substrate depth of 30 cm were small, which kept between 17 and 19 ℃. The use of substrate cultivation can effectively alleviate the high temperature on the surface. Under the condition of sunny days, the relative humidity of air in greenhouse was 24%-84% in daytime, the minimum is 24%, and 84%-95% at night. Due to the dry environment in the desert area, the low temperature at night will not lead to condensation of dew on the surface of greenhouse film. In the desert greenhouse, solar energy can be better converted into heat and the relative humidity was low, which can effectively ensure the growth and development of various vegetables and fruits. However, heat storage capacity of the desert greenhouse was poor, and the research on increasing the heat storage capacity of solar greenhouses in desert areas needs to be carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]