Vegetation cover can effectively protect the ground surface, inhibit the process of runoff and sediment production, and then affect the process of nutrient migration on slopes. Typical Bothriochloa ischaemum and Artemisia gmelini grasslands in the Loess Plateau were selected and simulated rainfall experiments (rain intensity 60 mm/h, duration 60 min, slope 15°) were used to study the slope runoff and sediment nutrient characteristics under different coverage conditions (10%, 20%, 30%, 45%, 60%, 80%). The results showed that: (1) The contents of soil organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus increased linearly with the increase of coverage (R²≥0.63). Compared with Artemisia gmelini plot, the contents of soil organic matter and total phosphorus in Bothriochloa ischaemum plot increased by 28.8%~107.1% and 10.6%~25.0% respectively, while the contents of total nitrogen decreased by 2.6%~42.5%. (2) With the increase of vegetation coverage, the concentrations of organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in runoff decreased by 0.6%~63.7%, but there was no significant difference between the two species (P>0.05). The amount of organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in runoff decreased by 1.9%~83.9%, and when vegetation coverage was ≥20%, the amount of organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in runoff in Bothriochloa ischaemum sample decreased by 28.4%~66.4%, 10.7%~55.8% and 3.3%~64.7%, respectively, compared with Artemisia gmelini sample. (3) The contents of organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the sediment decreased by -59.5%~65.1% with the increase of vegetation coverage, with an average decrease of 5.8%. The nutrients amount of the sediment Bothriochloa ischaemum were generally lower than those of Artemisia gmelini. The amount of Bothriochloa ischaemum and Artemisia gmelini sediment organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus showed an exponential function (R²≥0.78) and a downward trend with the increase in coverage, respectively. The nutrients amount in the sediment were significantly reduced by 69.9%~99.3%. (4) The total organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus of runoff sediment in Bothriochloa ischaemum and Artemisia gmelini showed an exponential function (R²≥0.53) and a decreasing trend with the increase of vegetation coverage, respectively. When the vegetation coverage was ≥45%, the total organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in Bothriochloa ischaemum decreased by 33.7%~71.8%, 50.1%~53.6% and 48.1%~64.3%, respectively, compared with Artemisia gmelini plots. (5) The enrichment ratios of soil organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus of two typical vegetation decreased linearly with the increase of coverage (R²≥0.56). The migration of soil organic matter and total phosphorus of two typical vegetations occurred mainly in sediment, and the migration of soil total nitrogen occurred mainly in runoff. The research results provide a theoretical reference for the effect of vegetation coverage on the nutrients migration mechanism of slopes.