Soil seed banks serve as the foundation for plant restoration and succession, playing a crucial role in sustaining biodiversity and ecological balance. The effect of short-term enclosure and grazing ban on soil seed bank was studied in the marsh meadow of Napahai Lake in northwest Yunnan Plateau. Through field sampling and seed germination identification, the effects of grazing and short-term confinement (3 years) on species composition, diversity and functional group structure of topsoil seed bank were compared. The findings show that short-term grazing exclusion significantly alters the diversity of the soil seed bank, reducing the Shannon-Wiener and Pielou indices (P <0.05) and increasing the density of sedge seeds (P <0.05). Weeds dominate in both enclosed and grazed conditions, with grasses and sedges following, and legumes being minimal. The percentage of weed species decreases, while that of sedge species increases under grazing exclusion, with no significant change observed in grasses and legumes. Weed importance values are significantly negatively correlated with grass and sedge importance values (P <0.05), and grass density is significantly positively correlated with sedge density (P <0.05). These results indicate that while short-term grazing exclusion reduces the diversity of the soil seed bank in swamp meadows, it also enhances the replenishment and recovery of sedge seeds, offering new insights for the restoration management of wetland ecosystems.