We analyzed the relationship between carbon stable isotope characteristics of 131 Hippophae populations and environmental factors by measuring the foliar δ13C value in Hippophae. The results showed that the foliar δ13C values of Hippophae ranged from -24.65‰ to -29.11‰, with an average of -26.97‰. Hippophae species were C3 plants. For the foliar δ13C values, the coefficient variation at intraspecific level was higher than that at interspecific level, indicating that environmental factors should be main factors driving the variations of leaf δ13C. The δ13C values had no significant correlation with latitude and longitude, but were negatively correlated with altitude. The regression equation was δ13C(‰)=0.118VAP-0.007GST-0.000028RDA-20.721 (R2=0.212,P<0.0001). Water vapor pressure (VAP), growing season temperature (GST), and radiation (RDA) were the major factors affecting foliar δ13C values. Our results could provide a theoretical basis to understand the responses of Hippophae species to global climate change.