Abstract:As an important ecological barrier in southern China, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are of great significance for ecological protection and sustainable development of resources in the basin by clarifying the impact of land use pattern change on habitat quality. Based on land use data of 2000, 2010 and 2020, the spatiotemporal change characteristics of land use have been analyzed by using land use transition matrix and dynamic degree model, and the temporal and spatial evolution of habitat degradation and habitat quality has been explored with the help of InVEST model, so as to further explore the response of dynamic change of habitat quality to land use change. The results showed that cultivated land and forest land are main land cover types in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and shows the characteristics of agriculture, forestry and grassland interlacing with grassland. The construction land is mostly distributed in the northeast of the study area along the river, and the expansion trend is the most obvious. It is mainly from cultivated land. The habitat quality in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is at a good level as a whole, but it shows a continuous degradation trend, and the overall spatial differentiation pattern is "low in the northeast and high in the southwest". The habitat degradation index is continued to increase, but the growth rate is decreased. It shows the effect of being strong in the middle and weak in the outside except for the Yangtze River Delta. The transfer of cultivated land to forest land has the greatest impact on habitat improvement, while the conversion of forest land to cultivated land has the greatest negative impact on habitat quality in the study area. The results of this study can provide a scientific reference for the optimization of land pattern, the improvement of habitat quality, and the integrated protection and system management of watershed ecology.