Abstract: This study selected the relatively fast-developing small and medium-sized city—Xiangxiang city as the research area. Based on the five-phase （2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020） remote sensing interpretation data, this study analyzed the evolution of urban and rural construction land characteristics and the influencing factors of the evolution of urban and rural construction land characteristics from 2000 to 2020. The results showed that the area of urban and rural construction land was gradually increasing, among which urban construction land was increasing faster than rural construction land; Most of the expansion of urban construction land and rural construction land comed from cultivated land and forest land; The expansion of urban construction land and rural construction land was unhealthy, and the population growth rate of urban and rural areas was slower than the expansion rate of construction land; The change of urban construction land was largely affected by the change of urban population and industrial structure,the change of rural construction land was mainly affected by the non-agricultural change rate of population, the change of rural fixed investment and industrial structure.

Key words: urban and rural construction land, evolution, driving forces, Xiangxiang city