Self-gravitating systems are generally thought to behavior non-extensively due to the long-range nature of gravitational forces. We discuss a relation between the nonextensive parameter q of Tsallis statistics, the temperature gradient and the gravitational potential based on the equation of hydrostatic equilibrium for self-gravitating systems. It is suggested that the nonextensive parameter in Tsallis statistics has a clear physical meaning with regard to the non-isothermal nature of the systems with long-range interactions. Tsallis’ equilibrium distribution for the self-gravitating systems describes the property of hydrostatic equilibrium of the systems.