Based on geographic information systems(GIS)and remote sensing(RS),five primary factors affecting soil erosion in the Chaohu Lake basin are extracted,i.e.,vegetation coverage,soil and water conservation measures,terrain,soil erodibility and rainfall erosivity.Meanwhile,the amount of soil erosion is estimated and the distribution map of soil erosion grade was acquired using the revised universal soil loss equation(RUSLE)model.The assessment and analysis of soil erosion status and its spatial distribution patternsin the basin are performed.Numerical results indicate that the dominated soil erosion types in the basin arethe very slight erosion and slight erosion that account for 93.87% and 6.04%,respectively.In addition,slope and vegetation coverage are the main factors affecting the soil erosion status in the basin.The findingsfrom the study are valuable for soil erosion control and decision-making for the Chaohu Lake basin.