In the past three centuries,land use in the agro-pastoral ecotone of North China has changed greatly,which has different impacts on society and natural environment.In this paper,Zhangbei county of Hebei province is selected as the research area.The development stage of land use is mainly analyzed using toponymy materials.By using the functions of reclassification and gravity analysis in ArcGIS software,the change trend of villages in different terrain areas with time is showed,and the main factors influencing land development are studied.Results show that,policy plays an important role in the change process.Terrain and altitude also influence land use to a great extent,and the persistence is very strong.This case study provides feasible technique and method for the later study of agro-pastoral ecotone, and also provides a historical reference for the subsequent exploitation and utilization of the land in this area.