Through indoor pot experiment, two introduced species, i.e. Lupinus micranthus and Purus frumentum were cultured in Pisha sandstone-amended aeolian sandy soil, aeolian sandy soil, Pisha sandstone, loessial soil, Pisha sandstone covered by aeolian sandy soil and Pisha sandstone covered by loessial soil. The objective of this study was to investigate the differences in growth, nitrogen and phosphorus nutrition of two introduced species planted in Pisha sandstone-amended aeolian sandy soil and primary soil types in the contiguous areas of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia, and provide references for the vegetation restoration of this area. The results showed that:(1) Pisha sandstone-amended aeolian sandy soil was better for the growth of plant root system, the total biomass was large, the above-ground biomass of L. micranthus in the Pisha sandstone-amended aeolian sandy soil was 242% higher than that in loessial soil, and the underground biomass was 186% higher than that in the aeolian sandy soil, the root length and volume were 388% and 290% higher than those in the aeolian sandy soil, respectively; (2) The root system of the two introduced plants showed different adaptive characteristics in different soil treatments, specific root length of L. micranthus was the largest in the Pisha sandstone-amended aeolian sandy soil and the least in the aeolian sandy soil, while that of P. frumentum was the largest in the loessial soil and the least in the Pisha sandstone-amended aeolian sandy soil. The volume fraction of roots less than or equal to 0.45 mm diameter was only 9.99% for L. micranthus and 13.94% for P. frumentum in the Pisha sandstone-amended aeolian sandy soil, which were smaller than those in other soils; (3) The nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations of plants in all treatments were lower than those under normal growth conditions, indicating that plant growth was restricted by nitrogen and phosphorus. The nitrogen-phosphorus ratios in all plants were less than 14, suggesting that plant growth was more severely limited by nitrogen than by phosphorus. Compared with several original soil types, the Pisha sandstone-amended aeolian sandy soil had better physiochemical properties and a higher productivity, and more suitable for plant growth, it could be applied to vegetation restoration in the contiguous areas of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia in northwestern China. However, appropriate application of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers should be considered to accelerate the process of vegetation restoration.