Abstract: Human activity is an important cause of ecosystem service value change. It is important to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics and the coupling relationship to achieve the harmonious development of human-land relationship. Taking the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) as an example, a comprehensive index system was established to quantify the human activity intensity, based on the land use data of 2000, 2010 and 2020. (HAI) and Ecosystem Service value (ESV) were calculated using equivalent factor method. Based on the relationship between the two, a four-quadrant model was used to divide ecological quality zones. The results showed that: (1) HAI was mainly in the range of low to lower intensity, showing a significant spatial differentiation. The high-intensity areas were distributed in patches in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and in the provincial capitals. The low-intensity areas were mainly located in the central, southeastern and northwestern regions of the study area, with an expansion of area. (2) In the past 20 years,the overall ESV of the YREB showed a decreasing trend, with a total reduction of 40.975 billion yuan; The high-value ESV areas were concentrated in the municipalities in the lake wetlands and the surrounding areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The low-value areas were mainly distributed in the cities in northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui, where construction land and arable land were concentrated. (3) The overall ecological quality of the study area was good, with 95 per cent of the counties in the areas of excellent, fair and good ecological quality. The ecological quality has shown a downward trend from 2000 to 2020. The study provided a reference basis for the refined management of regional ecosystems towards a rational protection and restoration of ecological environment.