Abstract: As an important natural factor, terrain affects land use change and the formation of land use pattern remarkably.  We analyzed the terrain gradient characteristic of land use change and land use pattern of Banan District, Chongqing in 2000, 2010 and 2015 by using terrain niche index, distribution index and land use degree composite index. GIS(Geographic Information System), Landsat TM images and DEM images were used in the study. We explored the relationship between land use change and land use pattern and the terrain gradient, in order to provide reference to the studies on man-land relationship in the fringe of mountainous cities with rapid urbanization and industrialization. The results showed that: (1) land resources of Banan District mainly distributes in the medium and high level of terrain niche, while land in the low level, the most suitable terrain for human production and living (i.e. the land located at the attitude of 200m below and the slope of 8° below), is relatively scarce; (2) during the study period, amounts of cultivated land has been changed to construction land in the low and medium level of terrain niche. As a result, the dominant distribution extent of both cultivated land and construction land  has shifted into the higher level of terrain niche due to the land distribution structure change; (3) the land use degree composite index of Banan District showed as an inverted V curve, in which the peak approached to the medium level of terrain niche. It proved that the land use intensity in the  hillside area has been increased gradually.
Key words：terrain gradient; terrain niche; distribution index; land use pattern and change; mountainous cities; Banan District