In order to study land-use and land-cover change in China in 1990s, two periods of Landsat TM imgery in the early and late of 1990s are interpretated to get the vector datasets. Farmland is human-induced land type and the core of all types of land. The temporal-spatial characteristics of farmland is studied by the datasets.In recent ten years, 3.24 hm² cropland decreased and 46.29% was converted into urban, rural and industrial land; 38. 28% was converted into forest and grassland; 11.29% was converted into water; 4.14% was converted into marass, sand and aboundened. Urban encroachment on cropland was concentrated in Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Guangdong, Beijing, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Guangxi and Shanghai. Rural encroachment on cropland was concentrated in Jiangsu, Hebei, Anhui, Shandong, Guangdong, Xinjiang, Henan, Beijing, Shaanxi, Zhejiang,Sichuan, Gansu, Liaoning and Shanghai. 1.27×10⁶ hm² cropland was converted into forest and grassland and 47.91% was forest, 52.09% was grassland. Reforestation concentrated in Zhejiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Yunnan, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Sichuan, Fujian, Hunan,Jiangxi, Xinjiang and Beijing. Regrassland concentrated in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Yunnan, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. At the same time 6. 2×10⁶ hm²  land was neo-cultivated and 55.69% was from grassland, 28.67% from forest, 10.82% from unused land, 4.64% was from water. The neo-cultivated land from forest concentrated mainly in Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Jilin. The neo-cultivated land from grassland concentrated in Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Xinjiang. In eastern coastal area, the cropland decreased rapidly. Beijing decreased by 16.04% and Shanghai 8.43%, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong and Hainan decreased rapidly while Hubei, Anhui, Fujian, Chongqing, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet decreased rarely. In middle and western area, the cropland increased. Ningxia increased by 13.78%, Heilongjiang increased by 12.85% and Inner Mongolia increased by 8.44%. Jilin, Xinjiang,Qinghai, Liaoning, Gansu increased. Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou increased rarely. The high-productive cropland is located in coastal area and the productivity of the cropland in border area is lower, so the grain production is threatened.