Elm woodland steppe (Ulmus pumila), widely distributed in the farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China, is an original landscape of the Horqin sandy land, Otindag sandy land and Hulunbeier sandy land. Its landscape is characterized by single tree species composition and well developed grass-shrub vegetation, being similar to subtropical sparse woodland, savanna. It is an important barrier to prevent deserts from invading. At present, however, the growth of the elm woodlands falls in a serious situation. The elms have decreased in number sharply and their natural regeneration has been unsuccessful for a long time. Especially, the recruitment process from seeds to seedlings is influenced by both the natural environment and human factors, resulting in the degradation of the elm woodland steppe ecosystem towards the edge of collapse. Based on the previous studies on regeneration process of elm seeds and seedlings in the main elm woodland areas in China, we summarized the distribution characteristics and main influencing factors for seeds and seedlings of elm woodland steppe, and put forward some prospects on provenance protection, long-term observation, multidisciplinary crossed research and effect analysis of stabilizing sands. This review will be of great benefit to the restoration and reestablishment of the elm woodland steppe.