[Objective] The driving factors and interaction of dynamic changes ecological environmental quality in the Minjiang River basin were studied in order to provide theoretical support for improving the quality of the ecological environment and for realizing human and natural development. [Methods] MODIS remote sensing data were obtained from 2001 to 2020 to calculate the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) of the Minjiang River basin based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. The spatio-temporal changes in ecological environmental quality for the Minjiang River basin were studied in combination with trend analysis, and the driving factors of RSEI were identified by geographical detectors. [Results] ① The average contribution rate of the first principal component of the four ecological indicators reached 69.01% in the RSEI calculation results, indicating that RSEI could fully reflect the ecological environmental quality of the Minjiang River basin. ② The ecological environment of the Minjiang River basin was in the good quality category, and exhibited improvement over time. From 2001 to 2020, the average RSEI of the Minjiang River basin increased from 0.618 to 0.701. The proportion of area with excellent and good ecological environmental quality increased by 19.16%, and the regional ecological environmental quality improved for 90.28% of the area of the Minjiang River basin. [Conclusion] The ecological environmental quality of the Minjiang River basin was jointly affected by multiple factors, among which altitude and nighttime light were the main influencing factors and driving forces with a high degree of explanation. The interaction between factors will increase the impact on ecological environmental quality.