[Objective] The spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and its driving factors of cultivated land in Yibin City, Sichuan Province were analyzed, in order to provide support for decision-making in regional land resource management and agricultural development planning.[Methods] Based on land use data and socio-economic data, the characteristics of spatiotemporal pattern change and its driving mechanism of cultivated land in Yibin City from 1980 to 2018 were explored with the help of land use transfer matrix, kernel density analysis, landscape index and PLUS model.[Results] ① The cultivated land area continuously decreased since 1980, with a total reduction of 247.92 km², mainly transferred to construction land and forest land. ② The distribution of cultivated land had obvious spatial differences, showing a spatial pattern of "more in the north and less in the south", and its spatial density decreased year by year. ③ The degree of spatial aggregation of cultivated land was continually decreasing, while the degree of dispersion was constantly increasing, resulting in an increase in fragmentation of cultivated land. ④ Socio-economic factors such as population, GDP, roads, and natural environmental factors such as elevation and water are the main driving factors of cultivated land change.[Conclusion] Under the constraints of natural factors such as elevation and water area, socio-economic factors such as population, economy and transportation conditions work together to drive the changes in cultivated land, with a continuous decrease in area and a gradual increase in the degree of fragmentation.