A systematic analysis of runoff changes in the Yellow River is important for ecological protection and the maintenance of high-quality standards within the Yellow River basin. Based on the measured runoff data at 11 hydrological stations and meteorological data from 19 meteorological stations from 1956 to 2020 above the Lanzhou hydrological station， including the Daxia， Tao， Huangshui， and Datong Rivers， linear regression and Mann-Kendall tests were used to analyze the variability of runoff series and the influence of driving factors on runoff change. The results showed that the runoff changes at representative hydrological stations in the study area increased and decreased from 1956 to 2020. The source region and northwest rivers showed slight increases in runoff， whereas the southeast rivers showed a decrease. Overall， the non-source rivers showed a decreasing trend. There was an abrupt runoff change at each station around 1990， with the runoff in the 1990s exhibiting the lowest values. A gradual increase was then observed， with the runoff reaching or exceeding the previous maximum value around the year 2020. Contrary to the trend of annual runoff， the winter runoff at all stations in the study area showed increases， except for the Daxia River， which was mostly influenced by anthropogenic activities. Changes in precipitation and snowmelt water were the main causes of runoff change in the source region， whereas the increase in regional water use and water consumption resulted in a decrease in runoff in non-source areas. Snow cover played a key role in increasing runoff after 2010 and alleviating drought in the 1990s， while permafrost degradation was the main reason for the change in the annual runoff processes slowing down throughout the year， except in winter.