Abstract: Danjiang River Basin is an important water source of the middle route of South to North Water Transfer Project. The water quality and quantity in Danjiang River Basin are crucial for the water safety of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Henan. In order to reveal the response of runoff and sediment to land use change in the Danjiang River Basin, this paper quantitatively analyzed the changes of runoff and sediment under different land use scenarios by using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT ) model and land use data from year 2000, 2008 and 2018. The results showed that: (1) During the period from year 2000 to 2018, the area of cultivated land decreased by 1 400.98 km2, while the area of forest land, grassland, urban land, and unused land increased by 938.20 km2, 400.04 km2, 43.53 km2 and 12.44 km2 in Danjiang River Basin, respectively. (2) The SWAT modeling results showed that the decrease of runoff and sediment could be due to the decrease of cultivated land and grassland area and the increase of forest land. During scenario year 2000 to 2008, land use change casued a reduction of 27 million m3 (-2.16%) in averaged annual runoff and a reduction of 11 900 tons (-6.74%) in averaged annual sediment, respecitivly. During scenario year 2008 to 2018, land use change caused a decrease of 168 billion m3 (-13.73%) in averaged annual runoff and 89 700 tons (-54.46%) in averaged annual sediment, respectively. (3) The water yield of Danjiang River Basin is higher in the upper and lower reaches while lower in the middle reaches; The sediment yield is lower in the upper and middle reaches while higher in the lower reaches. This study can provide a scientific basis for the optimization of land use strategy and the protection of water and soil resources in Danjiang River Basin.