Abstract: Damaged mountain slopes and desertification,including hot or hot-dry valleys,degrading sands, poor rock lands,etc.,known as the earth's "ecological cancer",are the key areas of afforestation and ecological management in the world. Many difficult site types are located in the source regions of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River in China,and belong to "the river source" and "the ecological source" by their ecological function. The difficult sites would often cause the deterioration of the environment,water loss and soil erosion and land desertification,and even bring about serious threats on the economic development and human survival if no effective managements were conducted. Ecological engineering are the effective ways of solving stubborn environmental problems of difficult site types. In this paper,a summary description is given of the most advanced engineering techniques and means of ecological restoration,aiming to provide strong scientific support for the ecological restoration of difficult site types.