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A descriptive study and an experiment were conducted to determine the selectivity of goats Capra hircus) on restricted grazing on a semi-arid temperate rangeland throughout the year. In 1987, a mixed-breed herd was monitored once a week for 16 consecutive weeks, in April through July. Two years later, in April, July and October of 1989, and January of 1990, the same herd was observed for 4 consecutive days. A randomly chosen goat was followed on each day of observation. During grazing (i.e. the total time spent in the range) the time used for feed consumption (i.e. the time spent eating) as well as the selected botanical species, were recorded. Plants were later grouped into shrubs, grasses, cacti, herbs and others. No significant differences between seasons were observed in time spent grazing (X?, 415.4±5.57 min) or time spent eating (X?, 145.3±5.75 min). There were seasonal differences in the time spent eating different plant species. Time spent eating shrubs was higher in summer (101.1 min) than in winter and autumn (65.6 and 57.6 min, respectively), and spring (47.6 min; SD, 3.79 min; P<=0.05). The amount of time spent eating grass was lower in the spring than in the other seasons (13.6, 35.7, 33.9, 44.9 min, for spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively; SD, 2.11 min; P<=0.01). Cacti were selected mainly in winter and spring, whereas herbs were eaten only during the wet months of summer and autumn (P<=0.01).