[Objective] The characteristics and driving mechanism of land use change in Chaohu basin were explored to realize optimal allocation of land resources and to promote sustainable development of social economy. [Methods] According to land use investigation and economic & social statistical yearbook in Chaohu River basin during 1996-2014, indices of land use quantity and intensity were used in spatial differences measurement model, and in principal component analysis to simulate the land use change in Chaohu River basin and its driving factors. [Results] Over the past 20 years, all types of land use had been changed in Chaohu basin, the amount, range and rate were different. Among which, cultivated land, vegetable land and grassland decreased remakbly, woodland increased slightly, half of the miscellaneous agricultural lands were changed into other types of lands that was mostly used as contstruction land. Especially, urban industrial infrastructure and traffic land increased rapidly; Rural residential land decreased slightly. Since 2004, land use intensity had increased year by year, high utilization intensity centralized around Hefei City and the surrounding regions was relatively low. In terms of the decreasing rate of cultivated land, districts of Jin'an and Yaohai, counties of Feixi, Hanshan had comparatively great values; The increase rates of urban land in counties of Feixi and Changfeng were relatively great. In the last 10 years, investment, economic development, industrial advancement, population growth and urbanization were the main driving factors of land use change in Chaohu River basin. [Conclusion] To accelerate the construction of the subcenteral group cities around the world-class city in Yangtze River delta and to set up an ecocivilized demonstration area, we need tooptimize land use spatial pattern, to release stocked land for construction, to improve the use efficiency of construction land. For all of these, land use pattern having resource-saving and environment friendly traits was prefered.