Aims <p>To address and restore grassland degradation on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP), government-led ecological restoration plans and policies have been implemented in recent years. However, a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of the sustainability of these restoration efforts is lacking, and a consensus has yet to be achieved.</p> Methods <p>We used the minimum data set (MDS) method to identify appropriate indicators to assess plant and soil quality indices and resilience of regrazed grasslands with different durations of grazing.</p> Results <p>In the early stages following the establishment of seeded grasslands, vegetation productivity and soil nutrient levels significantly increased; however, this increase was accompanied by a reduction in plant diversity. Continuous grazing on these seeded grasslands subsequently resulted in secondary degradation. The results revealed that the resilience and quality indices of the plant-soil systems of the seeded grasslands continued to decline from the 0th to the 13th year of grazing. More management interventions are needed after the establishment of seeded grasslands. In contrast, fences maintained greater plant diversity and more stable long-term ecosystem conditions than seeded grasslands did, indicating that passive restoration may produce more sustainable results than may active restoration. The different performances of the seeded grassland and fenced areas during the long-term successional stage after grazing resumed may be attributed to variations in plant diversity.</p> Conclusions <p>Fences can serve as a more effective restoration method than seeded grasslands achieving greater sustainability in terms of recovery outcomes on the QXP.</p>