The expansive oasis between the Gurbantunggut Desert and the Tianshan Mountains has undergone significant transformations across various spatial and temporal scales. Understanding its evolutionary processes is essential for predicting future trends in modern oasis development. To investigate these processes, a spatio-temporal approach was used, incorporating measurements of surface-sediment grain size and nutrient content to characterize modern stages of oasis-desert evolution. The results reveal that modern oasis sediments, such as those from forests and wetlands, are characterized by a higher content of End-Member 1 (EM1, fine particles), total organic carbon (TOC), and total nitrogen (TN), whereas desert sediments, such as those from mobile dunes and fixed/semi-fixed dunes, exhibit a greater proportion of End-Members 2 + 3 + 4 (EM2 + 3 + 4, coarse particles) and lower soil nutrient contents. These indices were then successfully applied to two representative sedimentary profiles from the desert-oasis transition region to identify the oasis and desert environments. These findings confirm the efficacy of these indicators in reconstructing past environmental changes in the desert-oasis system. Based on the linear fitting results of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) data from this study, the desert- oasis evolution process documented in two sedimentary profiles on the southern margin of the Gurbantunggut Desert was reconstructed. Comparison with regional paleoclimate records reveals that from the last deglaciation to the early Holocene (16-10 ka), the area experienced strong aeolian activity, with temperature and Tianshan meltwater serving as the primary drivers of oasis formation. Since the mid-to-late Holocene, aeolian activity has diminished, and oasis development has become more closely tied to increased precipitation in the surrounding mountains.