[Objective] The differences in the dominant driving factors of NDVI evolution in different sub-regions and different historical periods in China were determined in order to provide important decision support for the protection and restoration of vegetation ecosystems. [Methods] Based on GIMMS NDVI, MODIS NDVI, and meteorological station data, we used a center of gravity model and geodetector to analyze and determine temporal and spatial evolution patterns and the driving mechanism of NDVI in China from the perspective of geographic division. [Results] ① In the past 40 years during 1981-2019, the center of gravity of NDVI in China has shifted southward, indicating that the increment and growth rate of vegetation NDVI in Southern China were greater than in Northern China. ② Regions with positive correlations between NDVI and temperature were mainly located in the Loess Plateau, the middle of the Sichuan Basin, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Zones with negative correlations between NDVI and precipitation were mainly located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau; ③ During 1981-2019, there were significant differences in the dominant driving factors of vegetation evolution in different regions and different historical periods. With the increasing intensity of human activities over time, land use and other factors have gradually become the dominant factors in the evolution process of vegetation ecosystems in each sub-region. [Conclusion] The vegetation condition in China has generally increased in the past 40 years, and the contribution rate attributed to human activities in the evolution of vegetation ecosystems has become greater than that of natural factors.