[Objective] The effects of land use/land cover change on soil erosion at Gushanchuan watershed was illustrate for better understanding the dynamic of sediments in Yellow River in order to provide theoretical support for improvement of soil erosion model. [Methods] Based on the data of land use and land cover derived from Landsat TM image, and of vegetation factor derived from Chinese soil loss equation(CSLE), transition matrix of land use change was used to analyze vegetation factor variation caused by land use/cover changes. [Results] From 1975 to 1997, vegetation factor increased with the decrease of grass land, and the increase of vegetation cover and cultivated land. While from 1997 to 2012, though opposite facts happened, i.e., grass land and vegetation cover increased, whereas cultivated land decreased, these still resulted to increase of vegetation factor. [Conclusion] As the most important measures, grassland and forestland should be increased. This is of great significance for controlling soil erosion.