Abstract: Abstract：Spatial and temporal variation features of land use pattern in Yixing city in recent 20 years had been carried out, based on the data source of TM image in 1987 and 2007. The data of land use pattern in Yixing was extracted by the combined method of artificial interpretation and supervised classification, and changes of amount, proportion and structure of land use pattern were analyzed through GIS spatial analysis and mathematical statistics. The results showed that lowland fields, construction lands, water areas, and woodlands accounted for 32%, 27.31%,19.47% and15.45% of the total area, respectively, occupying the dominant position in the land utilization status in Yixing in 2007. Conclusively, the arable area sharply declined while construction lands and water areas increased significantly in recent 20 years’ land use condition in Yixing. However, the area of woodlands and garden plots changed slightly. The annual average decreasing amplitude of arable area is 1.76% while the construction lands had an annual average amplitude of 4.05%, which were both far beyond the national average level.