The alpine shrub meadow ecosystem in western Sichuan is of great significance to the water ecological security of the Yangtze River Basin, and its litter layer is one of the important components of the water conservation function in this ecosystem. The alpine shrub meadow litter in Zheduo mountain was chosen as study objective, the field investigation and laboratory analysis were used to study the litter accumulation, water holding and water loss process, in order to explore the difference of water conservation function of litter among different elevations and slope aspects. The results showed that: (1) The litter accumulation in the study area fluctuated between 4.02~4.77 t/hm², all of which showed a gradual decrease with the increase of altitude, and the rule of semi-shadow slope>semi-sun slope. The elevation had the extremely significant impact on litter accumulation (P<0.01); (2) The maximum water holding capacity and volume of litter in the study area showed the same law, the maximum effective storage capacity occurred in semi-sunny slope at 3 800 m (5.95 t/hm²), and the minimum occurred in semi-shady slope at 3 800 m (2.53 t/hm²); (3) The relationship between litter water holding capacity and immersion time was W_t=aln(t)+b; whereas the relationship between litter water absorption rate and immersion time was V=ktⁿ. Water loss amount and water loss time showed a significant logarithmic relationship (R²>0.95, P<0.01), whereas water loss rate and water loss time showed a significant power function relationship (R²>0.99, P<0.01). It could be seen that the water conservation function of shrub-meadow litter in this area had distinct characteristics under different altitudes and slope directions. Controlling grazing to reduce the meadow degradation and increasing the species diversity of this ecosystem could effectively improve the water conservation of litter in this area.