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The examined effects of habitat boundary on small mammals at the White Sands dune complex in the Tularosa Basin of south-central New Mexico from 22 May to 15 July 1996. The dunes that distinguish White Sands are unique. Their leading edge forms an abrupt boundary where they encroach upon adjacent desert-basin saltbush flat. We live-trapped small mammals on the boundary between and within the White Sands dunes and adjacent saltbush habitats to examine effects of this boundary on distribution, diversity and movement of small mammals. Chaetodipus penicillatus was captured most frequently within the dunes. Dipodomys ordii tended to be captured less frequently 10 m within the saltbush habitat than elsewhere. Animal movements perpendicular to the dune boundary differed among dune and saltbush habitats for Perognathus flavus and D. ordii even though habitats were similar in vegetative structure and supported an equivalent number of individual small mammals. A behavioral barrier is apparent between habitats along the edge of the White Sands dune boundary. There was no evidence of an edge effect at the spatial scale of our sampling plots. Characteristics of diversity and abundance normally associated with edge effect may not be highly expressed in arid ecosystems.