[Objective] The changes of ecological environmental quality were analyzed at Shenmu City of Shaanxi Province, an important area for ecological protection and construction in the Yellow River basin, in order to provide a scientific basis for ecological environmental management, restoration, and green development in this resource-based city.[Methods] Landsat remote sensing images in 2010, 2015, and 2020 were selected, and the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) was constructed as an ecological environmental evaluation index by using the principal component analysis method to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution pattern of ecological environmental quality in Shenmu City. The ecological environmental driving mechanism in the area was determined by Geodetector.[Results] ① The ecological environmental quality of Shenmu City deteriorated over time, with the decline in RSEI reaching 12.47 %, decreasing the fastest from 2010 to 2015. The area with poor ecological environmental quality in Shenmu City increased by 15.29 %. ② The ecological environmental quality in Shenmu City deteriorated first in the sandy area in the northwest (enhanced by wind), and then shifted to the southeast and northeast where the elevation was lower. Meanwhile, the dominant ecological environmental quality in Shenmu City was categorized as poor and fair. The area of those two categories occupied 67.09 % of the total area of Shenmu City. ③ The four indicator factors of vegetation cover and greenness, humidity, dryness, and heat were identified as significant drivers of ecological environmental quality in Shenmu City. Vegetation cover was the main driver of ecological environmental quality, accounting for 62.40 % of the variation in ecological environmental quality. The multi-factor interactions also all indicated synergistic enhancement, and the interaction between night light, population density, heat, and vegetation coverage was the strongest.[Conclusion] The overall ecological environmental quality in Shenmu City has been deteriorating over time. Although the previous degradation has been contained, the area of deteriorating ecological environmental quality is gradually expanding. Increasing vegetation cover can effectively enhance the ecological environmental quality in Shenmu City. Therefore, ecological protection measures such as vegetation greening should be further implemented to improve the ecological environmental quality in Shenmu City.