[Objective] Taking Hubei Province as an example, the tradeoffs and synergy between cultivated land functions and the strength of each function were studied in order to provide technical supports and decision-making suggestions for the multi-purpose utilization and management of cultivated land.[Methods] The principal component analysis(PCA) was used to identify the relationship between functions.[Results] ① The basic living security function of cultivated land in Hubei Province is the strongest, the ecological security maintenance function is second, and the employment security function is the weakest. ② There is a synergy between the basic living security function, ecological security maintenance function and employment security function, between the social stability maintenance function and the food security function, between the employment security function, the family economic contribution function and the national economic contribution function, respectively. ③ The social stability maintenance and food security had a tradeoff with the family economic contribution and the contribution to the national economy.[Conclusion] The PCA method can not only express the strength of each function, but also intuitively express the relationships and their degree of interaction between functions. Therefore, it can provide certain technical support and decision support for the multi-purpose utilization and management of cultivated land.