Abstract:The historical change of desertification in Shiyang River basin was introd uced and the desertification monitoring results in 1999 and 2004 were analyzed.The total area of desertif ication was found to increase by 6.47%, about 164271.6 hm2 from 1999 to 2004, with an average annual i ncrt·ase by 1.29%.From the view desertification changes in type and degree, it is concluded that the desertif ica t i on l'vol u tion t rend of Shiyang River basin is characterized by the whole improvement but local deterioration.