Head cut is a widespread and serious erosion type on the Loess Plateau and it has already threatened farmlands，local residents,roads，and factories. According to the field investigation on Dongzhiyuan,the influence factors of head cuts are natural and human factors. The natural factors mainly include runoff，topo grap by，and soil.The genetic types of head cut are summed up，including flow-induced type，sink hole-induced type，fissure-induced type，and human-induced type. According to the order of time,the development of head cut can be divided into three stages:water erosion stage，water and gravity erosion stage,and gravity erosion stage. The control measures of gully head are presented based on the characteristics of different erosion types.