Abstract: In this paper, the remote sensing images of Gaochang area in Xinjiang in 1989, 1997, 2002, 2009 and 2016 were taken as the data sources to extract the oasis distribution in the study area in recent 27 years. The GIS means, fragstats and related statistical methods were used to investigate the change of time sequence and spatial distribution of the Gaochang Oasis and of the driving factors. The results showed that the Gaochang Oasis was expanded during the study period, the oasis-non-oasis conversion was significant, the oasis area was enlarged from 413.47 km² in 1989 to 800.48 km² in 2016, and the oasis expansion was the most significant during the period of 1997-2002. The central area of the oasis was stable, and the area fluctuation occurred mainly in the eastern and western marginal zones. The fragmentation of the oasis landscape was reduced at first and then increased gradually, the landscape shape was tended to be complex, but the overall landscape structure was still relatively single and easily affected by human activities. In the past 27 years, the oasis change was affected by both the natural and human factors, in which the exploitation and utilization of water resources was the precondition of oasis expansion, and the farming population, economic development, agricultural modernization and policy were the main driving factors.

Key words: oasis, spatiotemporal pattern, driving factor, human activity, Gaochang, Turpan, Xinjiang