Abstract: The spatial-temporal variation characteristics and driving forces of regional LUCC constitute the main basis for understanding the processes of large-scale environmental change. Land-Use and Land-Cover Change in arid areas is especially significant for regional hydrology and ecology, thus attracting the interest of current global change research. Based on Landsat data from 1977 to 2015, Land use and land cover mapping of the upstream of the Kongqi River Basin in Xinjiang has been completed using the Multi-rule Man-machine Interactive Visual Interpretation method. As a result, we have analyzed the dynamics of LUCC in the last 40 years from several aspects including the quantitative change, spatial change and land use intensity. The analysis has shown that:(1) Only the cultivated land and construction land have increased by more than 200% while the other classes have been decreasing at different rates; (2) the spatial change of cultivated land showed spatial agglomeration, while the expansion of construction land showed spatial continuity; (3) the natural vegetation experienced a small degradation-restoration process around 2000, mainly due to land reclamation and policy impacts; (4) Consequent to several government policies such as the Development of the Western Region in China and the Ecological Comprehensive Treatment Project of Tarim River, the highest spatial change rate (2.76%) was observed during 2000-2005; (5) Population growth and Policy have been found to be exercising greater influence over the natural factors. Both qualitative and quantitative assessments of Land Use Land Cover Changes in this area are important for future planning and sustainable development.

Key words: LUCC, spatial-temporal changes, driving forces, arid zone, Kongqi River Basin