The Loess Plateau is a plateau in north-central China formed of loess, a clastic silt-like sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. It is located southeast of the Gobi Desert and is surrounded by the Yellow River. It includes parts of the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi and Shanxi. The depositional setting of the Chinese Loess Plateau was shaped by the tectonic movement in the Neogene period, after which strong southeast winds caused by the East Asian Monsoon transported sediment to the plateau during the Quaternary period. The three main morphological types in the Loess Plateau are loess platforms, ridges and hills, formed by the deposition and erosion of loess. Most of the loess comes from the Gobi Desert and other nearby deserts. The sediments were transported to the Loess Plateau during interglacial periods by southeasterly prevailing winds and winter monsoon winds. After the deposition of sediments on the plateau, they were gradually compacted to form loess under the arid climate.

The Loess Plateau is one of the largest and thickest loess plateaus in the world. Its 635,000 km2 area corresponds to around 6.6% of the land area in China. Around 108 million people inhabit the Loess Plateau.

Because of the strong winds, erosion is also powerful across the plateau. Therefore, erosional features, including wind escarpments, loess vertical joints and gullies are present. In the past few decades, the environment and climate has changed, including the rainfall pattern, vegetation cover, and the natural hazards. These changes may relate to human development in the plateau; Chinese environmental officials are trying to find sustainable ways to manage the region.

There are three main types of morphology in the Loess Plateau. They are loess platform, loess ridges, and loess hills. Loess tableland is flat and with many loess strata. It is mostly located at south Loess Plateau. Loess ridges are formed by erosion and are located at the central Loess Plateau. Loess Hills are conical dunes and are located at the north Loess Plateau. The geomorphology of the Loess Plateau is formed by the erosion and deposition of loess.

In the Loess Plateau, the geomorphology usually changes from rocky mountains to Alluvial plain at piedmont to river valley belt. This pattern keeps repeating from the Northwest to the Southeast of the Loess Plateau.

The height of the rocky mountains is much higher than the loess deposit. The height and morphology of the mountains are different in different locations.

One of the highest mountains in the Loess Plateau is called Mahan Mountain. The elevation of this mountain is around 3,670 metres (12,040 ft), which is 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) higher than the loess line. It is a flat-topped mountain and has paleo-peneplain remnants on the mountain top.

Some of the mountain slopes, especially the windward slope (north slope), were forested in the past.