The three years situation of land use and land cover in the 1612 km² downtown area of Chongqing are accessed mainly based on the RS and GIS supports. The study of three years is performed in two periods so as to monitor its change. After monitoring,the two period changes of land use and land cover are compared and the driving forces for the changes are analyzed. Accelerated industrialization and urbanization processes,population growth,transportation and infrastructure constructions,and other social factors are main reasons for the changes in the downtown area. In addition,the water storage of three-Gorges Projectalso contributes to the changes.