Alpine grasslands in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have been damaged by overgrazing, but stopping grazing can help restore them. Different grazing methods were tested on grasslands at different levels of damage. Results showed that total grass aboveground biomass decreased with more damage under free grazing, but increased with reduced grazing or exclusion. Species richness decreased with reduced grazing or exclusion, except in heavily damaged areas. Grass belowground biomass increased with reduced grazing in less damaged areas, but decreased in more damaged areas with exclusion. Grass types responded differently to grazing methods. Overall, the impact of grazing on grasslands depended on how damaged they were.