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Despite the predominant role of bud banks in population regeneration and community dynamics, they have received far less attention than deserved. In particular, it remains unexplored how bud bank size and composition respond to different grazing intensities in grasslands. We investigated the size and composition of bud banks under different grazing intensities and regimes on a typical steppe in Inner Mongolia, China. Our results showed that (i) the total bud density in the traditional grazing regime (grazing and haymaking within the same year in the same paddock; 2,444 ± 141 buds m⁻²) was 30 ± 11% higher (mean ± standard error; p < 0·05) than that in the mixed grazing regime (grazing and haymaking alternate annually in the same paddock; 1,872 ± 109 buds m⁻²), but they did not change with increasing grazing intensity, (ii) rhizome buds and bulb buds decreased sharply (p < 0·05 …