As a kind of disastrous weather with great harmfulness, sandstorm event significantly impacts the ecological environment in Northwest China. This study, it is to explore the spatial-temporal evolution of a typical dust event in northwest China in 2016 based on ground-measured particulate matter data, MODIS data, OMI sensor data and CALIPSO LiDAR data. Firstly, the characteristics and pollution situation of typical urban air pollution sources in Northwest China were determined based on PM2.5/PM10 index. Then, the spatial distribution characteristics of dust levels in atmospheric aerosols were analyzed using MODIS image MCD19-A2 AOD data, OMAEROe data product OMAEROe data product AAI data and CALIPSO-Level1 data. Finally, the backward trajectory of dust flow was simulated by the HYSPLIT model to determine the dust transport path in Northwest China. The results showed that the PM10 index of Xining, Lanzhou and Yinchuan was more than 200 μg·m-3 from April 30th to May 1th, 2016, and their PM2.5/PM10 value was less than 0.6, which was at a low level, indicating that the content of inhalable particulate matter in the air increases due to the influence of natural pollution sources. It could be inferred that this was the influence of the sandstorm event. Aerosol showed obvious horizontal variation during the sandstorm event. The sandstorm originated from the Southern Xinjiang Basin and continuously affected southern and central Xinjiang from May 1th to May 4th. In addition, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia and some parts of Shaanxi were also affected. According to its spatial variation, the Taklimakan Desert was the center of the formation of aerosol pollution in this sandstorm event. The sandstorm event mainly affected the southern basin and central Xinjiang, and the northern part of Qinghai Province. It could be seen from the simulation results of the air flow track that the sandstorm event from April 30th to May 1th, 2016, mainly affected Xinjiang and some areas of Qinghai through the westward path. What is more, the sandstorm material might have come from Southern Xinjiang basin and the Gurbangut Desert in the inner Junggar Basin of northern Xinjiang and Kazakhstan outside China. These results would provide an important scientific basis for suppressing the process of dust generation and protecting the sustainable development of an ecological environment in Northwest China.