The life table of the Daurian ground squirrel, Spermophilus dauricus , was constructed by use of data collected from the steppe-desert zone of northeastern China. Fourteen life-table comparisons were made based on nine theoretical predictions of life-history evolution. Ten of the comparisons showed similar patterns between S. dauricus and the Columbian ground squirrel, Spermophilus columhianus . Of the four different patterns, two need either studies on more populations of S. dauricus or further tests of S. columbianus , whereas the other two might result from the different statistical treatments to the patterns concerned. We conclude, therefore, that the two ground squirrels display strong similarities in their life-history traits. The results support the hypothesis that a trade-off exists between fecundity and survival, and also suggest that the age-distribution data for constructing time-specific life tables may be collected at times other than the breeding season provided that age-specific fecundity can be obtained independently.