Tibet's vast land area is a rich resource for animal husbandry. It is one of China's five great pasturelands; 56 percent of all of its grasslands, 46 million hectares, are used only for animal husbandry. Another 21.6 million hectares, 26 percent of total grassland, are used for farming and animal husbandry, with the remaining 14.8 million hectares, or 18 percent being used only for farming. High-quality, grass-rich grassland accounts for 9.7 percent of all usable grassland, 5.3 million out of 55 million hectares available. Medium-grade grasslands total 39 million hectares, 70.9 percent of all usable grasslands, with the remaining 10.66 million hectares, 19.4 percent, low-yield desert steppe.

Important domesticated animals include yaks, cattle, pian niu (offspring of a bull and a female yak), horses, donkeys, sheep and pigs. Most of these are raised under extensive conditions and are indigenous, primitive species. As such they are well adapted to local conditions, genetically prepared for the cold, low air pressure and thin oxygen of the high plateau. These animals provide the material base for the subsistence of the Tibetan people and also a valuable resource for the generation of foreign exchange .In addition they provide important raw materials for local traditional handicrafts, textiles, processing and other light industry. They hold an important position in the nation's economy.

Animal husbandry has been practiced for several thousand years in Tibet using the primitive extensive grazing method, the herdsmen moving from place to place to find water and grass, a situation that continued until the late 1950s. Productivity was low. Reportedly, there were only 9.74 million head of livestock in Tibet in 1952. Over the past 40 years the Tibetan governments at various levels have organized herdsmen in a large-scale move to protect the grasslands. Livestock breeds have been improved and prevention and treatment of livestock diseases emphasized. Other measures, such as enclosing or irrigating pastureland and rotating grazing, have further benefited animal husbandry. By the end of 1998, the region had 1.5961 hectares of enclosed grasslands, 1.5541 hectares of irrigated grasslands, and 977,800 hectares of grasslands where efforts were made to wipe out rats, pests and poisonous grass. By 2000, there were more than 2,300 million head of livestock in the region, consisting of 4 million yaks, 980,000 cattle, 270,000 pian niu, 1.55 million dairy cattle, 140,000 horses, 11.4 million sheep, 5.77 million goats and 230,000 pigs. Total output of meat was 149,300 tons, milk 204,000 tons and wool 294,700 tons.