Observational records of the locations of glacier termini, glacier mass balance, temperature, and precipitation, and field observations indicate recent glacier variations in the Pamir-Alai, central Asia. Glacier advances occurred at the beginning of the 1900s, and from 1960 to 1975. Small glaciers responded quickly after negative temperature anomalies. Glaciers in the Pamir-Alai and West Tien Shan advanced or stagnated, and those in the North Tien Shan retreated from 1960 to 1975. Then, these glaciers retreated markedly after 1975. The mass balance records of eight glaciers in the Pamir-Alai, North Tien Shan, and East Tien Shan since the 1950s show the same tendency. They were stable from 1960 to 1975, and decreased largely from the late 1970s. The variations of glacier termini from 1960 to 1990 in the Pamir-Alai and West Tien Shan coincide with the mass balance records, while the variations of glacier termini in the North Tien Shan do not coincide with the mass balance records. The differences in glacier variations since the 1960s between the Pamir-Alai and West Tien Shan, and North Tien Shan are due to differences in precipitation pattern.