In order to investigate the performance of Xinjiang Gobi gravel as a road base aggregate and recommend its gradation, four types of dense-graded mixtures were selected. Compaction and vibration molding techniques were employed to conduct molding and California bearing ratio (CBR) tests. The effects of gradation parameters and molding methods on the volume and strength characteristics of natural and dense-graded Gobi gravel were analyzed to determine the optimal gradation for the gravel base. Based on these findings, engineering validation was subsequently conducted. The results indicate that, compared to natural gradation, dense-graded Gobi gravel achieves better compaction, with the interlocking dense gradation exhibiting the best performance in terms of moldability and strength. It is concluded that the gradation can be quantified using the uniformity coefficient and coarse-to-fine ratio, with the coarse-to-fine ratio showing a strong correlation with vibration molding strength. Additionally, the optimal coarse-to-fine ratio corresponds to the average passing rate of the 4.75 mm sieve. Moreover, the optimal moisture content of Gobi gravel is negatively correlated with the average particle size of the gradation and positively correlated with the average passing rate of sieves below 4.75 mm. While the maximum dry density and CBR value of vibration-molded Gobi gravel are slightly lower than those of crushed stone, their performance trends are similar. The study concludes that gradation design is crucial when using Gobi gravel for road base applications. Research shows that the gradation design is particularly important when using Gobi gravel as a pavement base. The interlocked dense gradation of Gobi gravel improves the CBR by 69% compared to naturally graded Gobi gravel, and also results in superior construction performance and service life.