Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyze on pattern changes and traits of rural residential areas during 30 years in Three Gorges Reservoir Area, and provide the basis for rational use of rural residential areas and potential mining. Apply of combining of the methods of qualitative and quantitative analyses, analyze on the changing rules from the whole to the local. The results are that, 1) Rural residential areas are located surrounding the urban areas, and distributed along the river bank, while rural residential areas are small in the middle and downstream area. 2) The increasing of rural residential areas is due to occupying cultivated land, forestry land and grassland, and rural residential areas occupying cultivated land is gradually reducing because of the policy of cultivated land protection. 3) Regional differences are relatively large about rural residential area changes, and the scale is enlarging from scattering to concentrating, the compact degree is relatively low, the potential of intensive use is large. The conclusion is that the research can understand the structure and changing traits of rural residential areas.