Abstract: Based on the 2016 Land Change Survey Database to extract the spatial distribution information of residential areas, combined with qualitative and quantitative analysis methods, GIS spatial analysis, landscape pattern index and other methods, with the “polarization effect” and “hydrophilic effect” as an opportunity,the spatial heterogeneity of rural settlements distribution in Pishan county oasis in extremely arid areas is analyzed. The research shows that the residential areas in the study area are concentrated in the hinterland of the township center. With the increase of the radiation radius, the scale of the residential area gradually decreases, and the spatial agglomeration is more obvious. The HH agglomeration phenomenon appears in the hinterland of the cluster-type township center. With the increase of the radiation radius, the clustering of HL and LH outliers is gradually presented, and the distribution of linear residential sites is mostly random. The closer the layout of the residential areas closer to the administrative center is, the more regular, centralized, and the more spatially connected, the more obvious the “polarization effect”. With the increase of radiation radius of river water source, the residential areas in the study area are gradually concentrated and complicated, and the spatial connection degree of residential areas is gradually increasing; The dispersion of linear residential area is gradually decreasing, and the area disparity is gradually increasing; The degree of dispersion of shaped residential area gradually increases, and the area disparity increases gradually.

Key words: extreme arid area, residential settlement rectification, polarization effect, hydrophilic effect, spatial analysis