Abstract: Guided by the principle of prioritizing ecological protection, this study developed an evaluation system of green development performance in key eco-function areas by selecting 23 indicators from environmental protection and utilization, the green development of economy and social harmony and progress. Based on the evaluation system, the green development performance (2000-2020) in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area was evaluated by combining entropy weighting method and expert scoring method. Also, this study explored the multi-dimensional space-time effects and analyzed the development performance of the environmental system, economic system and social system in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area and their coupling coordination degree. It was found that the score of the green development performance in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area was between 0.3 and 0.5, which was not high in general but it was steadily increasing with time. Environmental protection and utilization contributed the most to the green development performance, followed by the social harmony and progress. The green development performance in the belly section was the highest, followed by the tail and head section, It was found that the regional deviation was reducing. Regarding the spatial-temporal pattern, the green development performance featured a rising trend with seven regions in the lead, showing a positive spatial correlation but a loose spatial agglomeration. Although the coupling degree between the environmental, economic and social systems was high, the coupling coordination degree was limited and thus the complex ecosystem was in a low level of coordinated development.