Biological characteristics of Hyalomma rufipes parasitising on rabbits and sheep were compared under laboratory conditions in Gansu, China. Mature ticks could parasitize both rabbits and sheep, while immature ticks only fed on rabbits successfully. Adults sucked blood on sheep significantly longer than on rabbits (16 and 13 days, respectively). Other adult parasite characteristics fed on the two hosts were similar, including the weight of engorged adult, female daily oviposition, and the weight and amount of the egg mass laid. Those indicated that this tick species showed little host specificity between sheep and rabbits during its adult stage. In total, the life cycle of H. rufipes was completed in an average period of 179 days. The average developmental periods were 59 days for egg incubation, 3 and 21 days for immature tick prefeeding and feeding, 2, 12 and 40 days for adult prefeeding, female preoviposition and oviposition. The longer female fed for engorgement, the shorter preoviposition period of engorged female needed, although when the feeding period was less than 15 days, this relationship was not obvious. The results confirmed the correlation between the weight of the engorged female and the number of eggs laid (r = 0.909). The reproductive efficiency index (REI) and reproductive fitness index (RFI) in females was 10.63 and 7.22, respectively. Engorged nymphs moulting to females were significantly heavier (27.6 ± 0.89 mg) than those moulting to males (22.3 ± 0.52 mg). Males outnumbered females by 1.4:1.