To study the effects of the open-pit mining area and surrounding area on soil nutrients, we take the Inner Mongolia Typical open-pit metal mine in the desert steppe. Soil nutrient contents were analyzed by collecting soil samples at different distances from the mining area. The results showed that referring to the soil nutrient grading standards, total phosphorus, available potassium and available phosphorus content of soil were at a relatively low level in the study area. The contents of available phosphorus, available potassium, organic matter, and alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen increased significantly with the increase of distance from the mining center. The results indicated that open-pit mining could obviously affect the accumulation of organic matter and available nutrients in the soil, but had no obvious effect on the pH value of the soil. The content of main nutrients in the soil 1 km-2 km inside and around the mining area was significantly lower than that of CK (natural grassland). When the soil nutrients in the area 5 km away from the mining center were basically similar to the control area, it indicated that the soil nutrients in the area 5 km away from the mining center were basically not affected by mining activities.