Provenance studies of aeolian sand are beneficial for understanding desert formation and evolution. The material source of aeolian sand in the Mu Us Desert remains controversial, and few studies have focused on its sand transport pathways. Thus, the heavy-mineral compositions of 92 modern aeolian sand samples, 23 fluvio-lacustrine sediment samples, 5 alluvial sediment samples and 19 bedrock samples were examined in this study. First, aeolian sand samples were classified into several groups by assemblage-based hierarchical cluster analysis. Then, the mineralogy of each group was compared with potential source mineralogies to determine the groups’ origins. Finally, the dune sands’ transport pathways were determined by comparing the between-assemblage similarities of sands along the wind direction. The results reveal the following: (1) The aeolian sand heavy-mineral suites in the central and northern areas differ from those in the southwestern areas, suggesting significant source differences. In the central and northern areas, the weathered detritus of sandstone was concentrated in depressions mainly by fluvial processes, thus providing a primarily fluvio-lacustrine sediment supply for dune creation. In the desert’s southwestern region, the sources also include Yellow River sediment and Loess Plateau slopewash. (2) The sand transport is strongly limited by fluvial and lacustrine systems, leading to anisotropic suite patterns in aeolian sand in the Mu Us Desert.

风沙的种源研究有助于了解沙漠的形成和演化。Mu Us沙漠中风沙的物质来源仍存在争议，很少有研究关注其沙的运输途径。因此，本研究检查了92个现代风沙样品，23个河湖沉积物样品，5个冲积沉积物样品和19个基岩样品的重矿物成分。首先，通过基于组合的层次聚类分析将风沙样品分为几类。然后，将每组的矿物学与潜在的来源矿物学进行比较，以确定各组的起源。最后，通过比较沿风向的沙粒组合相似性，确定了沙丘沙粒的传输路径。结果显示以下内容：（1）中部和北部地区的风沙重矿物组合与西南地区不同，表明来源有很大差异。在中部和北部地区，风化的砂岩碎屑主要通过河流作用过程集中在洼地中，从而为沙丘形成提供了主要的河流湖相沉积物。在沙漠的西南地区，污染源还包括黄河沉积物和黄土高原坡面冲积物。（2）河流和湖泊系统极大地限制了沙的运输，导致了毛乌斯沙漠中风沙中的各向异性套件模式。砂岩的风化碎屑主要通过河床作用而集中在洼地中，从而为沙丘的形成提供了主要的河湖沉积物。在沙漠的西南地区，污染源还包括黄河沉积物和黄土高原坡面冲积物。（2）河流和湖泊系统强烈限制了沙的运输，从而导致了毛乌斯沙漠中风沙的各向异性套件模式。砂岩的风化碎屑主要通过河流作用过程集中在洼地中，从而为沙丘形成提供了主要的河流湖相沉积物。在沙漠的西南地区，污染源还包括黄河沉积物和黄土高原坡面冲积物。（2）河流和湖泊系统极大地限制了沙的运输，导致了毛乌斯沙漠中风沙中的各向异性套件模式。