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In the past 30 years, Northwest China has experienced a warm and humid climate increase trend. How this climate change will affect the species diversity of plant communities is a hot issue in ecological research. In this study, four α diversity indexes were applied in 29 shrub communities at desert sites in Xinjiang, including the Margalef index, Simpson index, Shannon–Wiener index, and Pielou index, to explore the relationship between the α diversity of the desert shrub communities and climate factors (mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP)). The species diversity indexes varied across these different desert shrub communities. <i>Tamarix ramosissima</i> communities had the highest Margalef index, while the <i>Krascheninnikovia ewersmannia</i> communities had the lowest Margalef index; <i>T. ramosissima</i> communities also showed the highest Simpson index and Shannon–Wiener index, but <i>Alhagi sparsifolia</i> communities showed the lowest Simpson index and Shannon–Wiener index. The <i>Ephedra przewalskii</i> communities and <i>Karelinia caspica</i> communities showed the highest and the lowest Pielou index, respectively. The α diversity indexes (except the Pielou index) of desert shrub communities had a significantly positive correlation with MAP (<i>p</i> < 0.05) but a non-significantly correlation with MAT (<i>p</i> > 0.05). These results indicate that, compared with temperature, water conditions are still a more vital climatic factor affecting the species diversity of desert shrub communities in Xinjiang, and thus, the recent “warm and humid” climate trend in Xinjiang affects the α diversity of desert shrub communities.