[Objective] To analyze the spatio-temporal variation of rainfall erosivity in order to provide the basis for predicting soil erosion and evaluating the effectiveness of conservation measures.[Methods] Based on the daily rainfall records(1970-2010) from 13 rain-gauge stations located in Daning river watershed in the Three Gorges reservoir region, the characteristics of annual and monthly rainfall erosivity were investigated. Meanwhile, by using GIS 10.2 software, spatio-temporal variation of rainfall erosivity was analyzed.[Results] The annual rainfall erosivity(R-factor) was ranged from 3 619.55~11 109.14 MJ·mm/(hm²·h·a), and the mean value was 7 245.55 MJ·mm/(hm²·h·a). The spatial distribution of rainfall erosivity showed a decreasing trend from east and west to the central of the watershed, while there was no significant change from south to north. The distribution of rainfall showed a similar trend. The maximum and minimum rainfall erosivity occurred in Jianlou and Wushan station, respectively. The inner-annual distribution of the rainfall erosivity showed two peaks and highly concentrated in the period from April to October, which accounted for 95% of total annual rainfall erosivity.[Conclusion] The spatio-temporal variation of rainfall erosivity is not only closely related to the distribution of rainfall amount, but also related to the regional rainfall pattern and local topography.