Abstract: In the strategic intersection period of land spatial planning system construction and ecological inquiry construction, the existing research lacks attention to the evolution of land spatial pattern in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt with complex terrain, fragile ecology and rapid economic development. This paper analyzes the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of land use structure and “three-zone space” of 329 county-level administrative units in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2010 to 2019, and explores the driving mechanism of evolution from the perspective of human-land relationship, so as to provide experience reference for optimizing land spatial pattern, coordinating ecological protection and economic development, and realizing efficient and sustainable development. The results show that: （1) In the past 10 years, the urban space in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has continued to expand, occupying 2 191.25  km² agricultural space and 413.19  km² ecological space, and 4 223.89  km² agricultural space has been converted to ecological space. (2) From 2010 to 2015, dominated by agricultural space to urban space, mainly distributed in Chengdu-Chongqing, central Guizhou, and central Yunnan urban agglomeration areas; from 2015 to 2019, dominated by agricultural space to ecological space, mainly distributed in the eastern mountainous area of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. (3) The cross-transformation of the “three-zone space” is affected by the objective carrying environment (land), human development activities (man) and the interaction between the two, which is reflected in the spatial demand of human social development. Restricted by the values of land use and the objective operation law of society, the evolution of the “three-zone space” is driven based on the current situation of natural environment carrying and the development suitability pattern.