 The tail-autotomy rate in the population of step-runners, Iremias argued a dessertie, Gmellon, 1789, living in semi-deserts of the southeastern part of the lower Volga region was studied. The proportion of lizards with the signs of tail-autotomy was used as an indicator of predation pressure. The results showed that the number of lizard individuals with autotomized, regenerated, tails increased throughout the research period, 2017 to 2019, suggesting that predators are not present in sufficient numbers to significantly affect the size of the population. Additionally, no autotomy as a result of intra or inter-specific contact was observed. Migrating individuals had higher rates of tail-autotomy than resident ones, and there were no significant differences in the presence of tail-autotomy between males and females. This article was authored by S.S. Micheustin and G.V. Polinova.