10 temple courtyards and 10 temple gardens were chosen as the research object in Nanjing.There were 146 species of vascular plants(including variety),which belong to 96 genera and 63 families.The Richness index,Simpson index,Species diversity and Similarity index of the plant community were analyzed.The results showed:①The dominant species of temple courtyards and temple gardens were all trees;the density of shrub layer(0.32 strains/m2) was greater than that of the tree layer(0.21 strains/m2).And the density of tree layer(2.4 strains/m2) and shrub layer(4.5 strains/m2) in temple gardens were totally higher than those of temple courtyards.②Both the Simpson index and the Species diversity in temple garden plots were higher than those of the temple courtyard plots;The Pielou index was at a higher level both in tree layer and shrub layer,which indicated that quantities of each tree species were on an average level.③The Similarity index in temple gardens was higher than that of the temple courtyards,both less than 50%,which indicated that the repetition rate of each tree species was obviously greater in temple gardens than in temple courtyards.