As interdisciplinary research, this Gender and Energy study innovatively revealed the crucial role of Tibetan women in using, saving and developing energy. We chose a typical Tibetan area named Gannan Prefecture in northwestern China, we chose three total grassland counties in Gannan; all three communities still have a nomadic lifestyle and do not have sufficient energy. After we concluded the close relationship between gender and energy in this area, we compared our research area with other Tibetan area those are located in Sichuan, Qinghai and Tibet. This comparison helped to figure out the relationship between Tibetan women and energy in China. The results showed a significant increase of total household energy consumption and the energy efficiency and the decrease of the disease rate because of using renewable energy and clean devices. It also improved women's empowerment in household energy management and promoted cultural change. However, a Tibetan woman's daily working time increased by 1 h from 15 h/day to 16 h/day. The reasons behind gender inequity include Religion influence, Social change and Industrial structure. This paper conclude the changes and attempts to analyze the internal factors, and tries to bring about some policy advice to benefit the Tibetan women. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.