Abstract: The vegetation cover change and its relationship between climate and human activities in Ordos plateau was studied based on the MODIS NDVI datasets，average monthly temperature and precipitation from meteorological stations in Ordos from 2001 to 2013，by using of the method of regression，correlation，residual analysis and the technique of GIS space.The results showed that there was significant spatial difference of Ordos vegetation，in which 30.36% of the vegetation cover grown significantly，which mainly located in the east and northwest of Ordos;0.57% of the vegetation cover decreased significantly，which mainly located in the northern border of Ordos.There was significant spatial difference relationship between vegetation NDVI and temperature，and precipitation，in which the most typical one was the relationship between vegetation NDVI in desert steppe region and precipitation. By using the method of residual analysis to quantify the situation of human activities in recent years，it was found that the significant change of vegetation NDVI was mainly influenced by artificial factors under the background of no significant change of temperature and precipitation.The results could provide scientific decision basis for further reasonable organization of human activities in Ordos region，based on the accurate interpretation of process and cause of the vegetation change in Ordos region.

Key words: MODIS NDVI, Climate change, Residual analysis, Ordos