[Objective] The objective of this paper is to explore the spatial and temporal characteristics of evapotranspriation(ET) in the Beiluo River basin, and provide theoretical basis for the study of ecological benchmark and ecological water requirement and the effect of returning farmland to forest. [Methods] Based on MOD16 remote sensing image data, meteorological and hydrological date during 2000—2014, and the land use date in 2011, we used river basin water balance method, method of mean value, the standard deviation method and the linear trend method to analysis the spatial and temporal variation characteristics of evaporation. [Results] The mean annual evapotranspiration of Beiluo River basin increased slowly with values ranged from 395.4 to 517.4 mm, and average evapotranspiration during the past 15 years was 446.74 mm. The monthly variation of evapotranspiration within the year show a unimodal pattern, it was mainly concentrated in the period from May to September, and its peak value occurred in August. The average relative error was 12.04% between spatial interpolation results based on measured rainfall and estimates based on MOD16-ET, the correlation coefficient was 0.81. The profile line of ET changed greatly from upstream to downstream of the Beiluo River basin, which presented the irregular “wave curves”. The spatial variation of annual ET was obvious in the basin. The ET showed an increasing trend in the midstream and upstream, while it showed a decreasing trend in the downstream. [Conclusion] In the recent 15 years, the evapotranspiration in Beiluo River basin showed an increasing trend, and human activity was the main driving force, especially the implementation of grain for green project and soil and water conservation project.