Abstract: Based on the analysis of survey and literature, the paper shows the vegetation in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region is of sparse and uneven with unclear vertical distribution and is disturbed seriously by human activities. Among the 75 vegetation types there are 25 forest types. At present, there is little distribution of forest below the elevation of 800 m. The Pinus massoniana and Biota orientalis occupy the largest area in the region, and are also the main forest species in the sparse forest grown by aerosow and artificial planting. The cultivated land on the slope above 25 degrees accounted for 17.5% of total cultivated land. The firewood forest offers only 10.78% of total energy in the countryside. Irrational land use and forest cutting have resulted in the serious degradation, the decrease of land productivity and the water and soil erosion in the fragile soil system and forest system. The soil erosion volume is up to 290 million tons per year. The effects of the Three Gorges engineering construction and largescale population migration on the forest systems are of longterm. The paper also shows that there are rich plant species diversity in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region. The plant species are at least up to 5 032 with the rich native species. In combination with the key forestry programmes such as Natural Forest Conservation Program and Land Conversion Program in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and other forest restoration actions, such as closing the mountain for raising forest, returning the cultivated land on the slopes above 25 degrees to forest, developing the firewood for energy and building the forestry management system with the multiple functions and mixed management models, the forest management environment will be improved to restore the forest efficiently. This is important for the reservoir forests shelter system and will promote the ecological and environmental construction and sustainable development in the region.

Key words: the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, forest restoration, forest distribution, sustainable forest management