Abstract: Based on the land change data of 1996-2009， this paper analyzes the evolution of land use structure in Liaoning Province by using the structure information entropy， and finds that in Liaoning Province the construction land is on the rise and the farmland is on the decline， with the cultivated land and grassland decreasing significantly. Then， the principal component analysis is applied to explore the driving factors of land use structure change in Liaoning Province. The findings indicate that the socialeconomic factors driving Liaonings land use structure change mainly include population， economy and urbanization. Aiming at rationalizing the land use structure in Liaoning Province， some corresponding policy recommendations are finally made.

Key words: land use structure, information entropy, driving mechanism