The elementary education in the ethnic minority areas in Southwestern China has found itself in the unprecedented difficult positions such as the breaking down of the balance between the investment and the profits; the divorce of school education from the development of economy, of human beings, and of the everyday life in these areas. We need to contemplate on these difficulties through researches. Owing to the narrow understanding of the definition of elementary education, one of the primary reasons for the difficulties lies in the only compulsory type of elementary education. By means of educational anthropology and through the adoption of the theory of Two Worlds advocated by the "Theory of Pan-education", which states that the education takes place in two different fields, the scientific, systematic world and the world of daily life, this article, based on the investigation on the various forms of education existing in the scientific and daily life in the ethnic minority regions in Southwestern China, has conducted some research on the elementary education in these places not only theoretically but also practically.It is proposed by the author that the core of the development of human beings, the only function of education, can be found in the improvement of their comprehensive quality, which is totally dependent upon the harmonious growth of humans consisting of the harmonious development of four relations, that is, the relations between the humans and the nature, the human and the society, , the human and the human, and the humans themselves. As significant part of the education, the elementary education functions as the basic support of the harmonious growth of humans. Similarly, the elementary education in the ethnic minority areas in Southwestern China should also provide these kinds of education which are helpful for the multi development instead of unitary growth of the persons receiving the education, and which are both welcomed by all the people and existent widely in the schools, families and society.The natural environment, culture, the ways of life and communication have greatly influenced the development of the elementary education in the minority areas.