Abstract: With the help of GIS tool of ARC/INFO, based on the information from forest distribution maps and permanent plots, six indices were put forward to analyze spatial patterns of forest landscapes in Linan from 1983 to 1994. They were mean matrix area, contour index, connectivity, fractal dimension, clustering index and stability. Analyzing results showed that the area proportion of natural forest landscapes, such as hard wood forest and pine forest, decreased gradually, components of forest landscape got simpler and forest landscapes became fragmented. While the area proportion of artificial forest landscapes, such as bamboo groves and economic forest, increased steadily, components of forest landscape became complicated and forest management tended to be highly regulated on a larger scale. A conclusion could be drawn that by using data from forest resources inventory as main information source to analyze spatial patterns of forest landscape, a practical way could be found for the theory of landscape e