Abstract: Based on Digital Elevation Model(DEM)and land use data of 1995，2005 and 2015， this paper revealed spatio-temporal patterns and terrain gradient effects of habitat quality in the middle of the Yangtze River Economic Belt by InVEST Model，GIS spatial analysis，terrain index and regression analysis method. The results showed that：（1）The spatial distribution of habitat quality in the middle of the Yangtze River Economic Belt was quite different，and the overall level was relatively high. High-quality habitats were primarily in mountainous hilly areas and waters，while low-quality habitats were mainly distributed in agricultural and urban areas.（2）From 1995 to 2015，the high-quality habitats tended to deteriorate to low quality，with the average habitat quality decreasing slightly.（3）The level of habitat quality change showed a spatial pattern of “northern and eastern improvement-central and southern decline”. The habitat quality in Jianghan Plain and the eastern Jiangxi Province had improved，and the areas of habitat quality decline were mainly located in the ring belt connected by the central important cities.（4）Significant topographic gradient effect existed in habitat quality. With the elevation of topography，the number of county-level units of high level habitat quality gradually increased. And the average habitat quality correspondingly increased. From 1995 to 2015，the habitat quality of the 1st terrain improved，while the habitat quality of the others was declining. The results are conducive to revealing the spatio-temporal changes of habitat quality in the middle of the Yangtze River Economic Belt，and they can also provide theoretical support for biodiversity conservation and land use planning in the middle of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.