[Objective] The ecological status of He’nan section of the Yellow River basin, the growth and development of vegetation in the area, and the main factors controlling vegetation coverage were determined in order to provide a theoretical basis and technical support for the ecological protection and restoration of the area and even the entire Yellow River basin. [Methods] We acquired MODIS-NDVI images for the Yellow River basin research area from 2001 to 2020 as well as meteorological, topographic, and land use type data. We used a pixel dichotomy model, univariate linear regression, and a geographic detector to determine changes in vegetation coverage and its driving forces in He’nan section of the Yellow River basin. [Results] ① Over the past 20 years, the annual average fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) in He’nan section of the Yellow River basin increased from 0.54 to 0.71, with an annual growth rate of 0.85%. Medium vegetation coverage (0.45＜FVC≤0.6), medium and low vegetation coverage (0.3＜FVC≤0.45), low vegetation coverage (0.1＜FVC≤0.3), bare land (FVC≤0.1) changed to medium and high vegetation coverage (0.6＜FVC≤0.75) and high vegetation coverage (FVC≥0.75), and the grade area increased by 12.60% and 75.49% respectively. ② Spatially, the areas with high and medium-high vegetation coverage were mainly concentrated in the Funiu Mountains in the west, the Taihang Mountains in the north, and the eastern plain. The areas with medium, medium-low, and low vegetation coverage were mainly concentrated in the central section from Luoyang to Zhengzhou City. The bare land was mainly located in the water system and both banks of the Yellow River. ③ Over the past 20 years, the area of increased vegetation coverage was much larger than the degraded area, and the area of extremely significant improvement accounted for 31.11%, which was mainly located in the Western Funiu Mountains and the Northern Taihang Mountains. The significantly improved areas accounted for 9.42% of the total area, and were mainly located around the extremely significant improved area. The area with no significant change accounted for 52.35% of the total area. The area of significantly degraded and extremely significantly degraded areas accounted for 3.01% and 4.11%, respectively, of the total area, and were mainly located in the cultivated land and built-up areas of the central and eastern plains. ④ The magnitude of the effects of various factors on vegetation coverage followed the order of land use type ＞ elevation ＞ slope ＞ precipitation ＞ temperature. The interaction and synergy of land use type and elevation had an impact on the spatial pattern distribution of vegetation coverage of 0.52. [Conclusion] Vegetation coverage in the study area significantly increased from 2001 to 2020, with obvious spatial differences. Land use type was the main factor affecting vegetation coverage.