Abstract: The effects of biological conservation practice were studied in Pangquangou National Nature Reserve (111°22′-111°33′E，37°45′–37°55′N， elevation 1 600–2 831m)，Shanxi Province，China from May to September in 2006 and 2007. Pitfall catches of carabid beetles from four sites，i.e.，Lusechanglang of the core zone forest （CZ），Badaogou of the buffer zone （BZ）， Shenweigou of the test zone （TZFF）， which is far from farmlands and Bashuigou of the test zone（TZNF），which is near to farmlands，were calculated and compared. A total of    1 731 carabids belonging to 42 species were caught. Carabid beetles were significantly more abundant，and species richness， diversity and dominance were higher in TZNF than in the other three zones. CZ had a very low number of individuals and low diversity. Based on species composition and abundance，carabid beetles from different zones were separated from each other by ordinations which was based on principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and cluster analysis. The carabid assemblage in BZ was similar to that of CZ and TZFF，but it was strikingly different from that of TZNF. In addition， these indices were not significantly different in CZ， BZ and TZFF， but they were higher than those in TZFF. Based on the presence of the carabids in different zones， we distinguished six groups of species：1) all zones species or generalists (three species)；2) core zone species (one species)；3) buffer zone species (one species)；4) test zone species (three species)；5) core and buffer zone species (one species)；6) buffer and test zones species (one species). It is inferred that the high diversity of carabid species in TZNF may be due to the edge-associated species and the presence of species from the adjacent habitats，while the low diversity of carabids in CZ due to the pressure of tourism and traffic. The biological conservation practice which relieves the pressure of human disturbance has significantly contributed to the reestablishment and maintenance of the diversity of carabid assemblages in the studied area.

Key words: Carabid beetles, species diversity, indicator species, core zone, buffer zone, test zone, Pangquangou National Nature Reserve