Vulnerability of water resources system is essential to regional water management and economic development in arid inland regions.The purpose of this study was to explain the meaning of water resources system vulnerability in arid inland regions and explore the vulnerability quantitatively.First,a vulnerability is analyaed based on the current researches,system in arid inland regions.A methodology to quantify expressing the characteristics of water concept of resources the vulnerability is presented subsequently by a multi-criteria analysis approach.At last,the Tarim basin is selected as the representative area of arid inland regions based on the data available and experts‘opinions.And the methodology is evaluated in the study area.Results show that 80%of the area is of vulnerability with high spatial variability.In addition,90%of the area has a conflicting relation between water supply and demand.Moreover,the results are in accordance with the actuality,which indicates that the methodology presented is valuable for water resources management and regulation.This study can provide a theoretical basis for the researches on water resources system adaptability coping with climate change.