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<b>Aim</b>: Comparing filtering factors of invasive alien plants (IAP) and non-invasive alien plants (NIAP) provides insight into the successful invasion of alien plants. By examining the distribution of alien plants across prefectures in China, we try to explore the roles of environmental, biotic and dispersal filters in the richness distribution of IAP or NIAP, as well as IAP in four ranks.<b>Location</b>: China.<b>Major taxa studied</b>: naturalized alien plants.<b>Methods</b>: We collected distribution and phylogenetic data for 225 NIAP and 239 IAP across 344 prefectures in China, as well as anthropogenic and environmental data. Furthermore, we categorized IAP into four ranks according to their levels of invasiveness. For each prefecture, we computed standardized effect sizes of mean phylogenetic distance (MPDses) for NIAP, IAP, and four ranks of IAP. Based on general linear mixed-effects models and structural equation models, we examined the roles of biotic, environmental, and dispersal filters on the richness of NIAP and IAP, including those in four invasiveness ranks.<b>Results</b>: The phylogenetic structure of IAP was more clustered than that of NIAP. We found that VT and GDP were more important for NIAP than for IAP, while MPDses had a strong negative effect on IAP than on NIAP. MPD was positively related to IAP but negatively related to NIAP. Furthermore, we observed more clustered phylogenetic structures in rank I, which includes the IAP with the most serious impacts. Dispersal filters were found to be particularly critical for rank I, while biotic filters played a more important role in the slightly impact IAP (rank IV).<b>Main conclusions</b>: Successful invasion necessitates a heightened ability for spreading and competition. Interspecies competition between IAP and NIAP restricts the distribution of NIAP. Therefore, considering resident alien species will help us predict which groups are more susceptible to invasion.