Lakes are an important resource for developing the economy and have a significant influence on maintaining regional ecological balance. This study used Landsat data from September of 1998, 2002, 2007, 2011 and 2013 to research the dynamic change of Ebinur Lake and its driving forces in recent years. The study used the normalized difference water index (NDWI) model and modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI) model to measure the surface area of Ebinur Lake. Maximum likelihood classification results were taken as the standard and the accuracy was verified with the lake area measurements in the NDWI model and the MNDWI model. Results showed that the NDWI model is more suitable for the actual situation. A total lake area of 519.26 km² in 1998 was reduced to 422.73 km² in 2013. This shrinkage of 18.59% showed that the Ebinur Lake was becoming degraded. Meanwhile, the authors used the ArcGIS 9.3 software to determine the Ebinur Lake boundary and used the dynamic model of lake area to research the change in lake dynamic further. In addition, the team analyzed the driving forces from two aspects: (1)In recent years, with the rising of temperature, precipitation showed a downward trend. In addition, a large amount of evaporation and runoff changes caused the Ebinur Lake area to shrink. Meanwhile, the authors analyzed the relationship between sand-dust days and lake area as well as the dry lakebed area.(2) With the increase in population, the watershed expanding of cultivated land area, and the large number of livestock, water demand is gradually increasing. Therefore, one can conclude that population growth is one of the main reasons that the lake is shrinking. In conclusion, carrying out research on the spatial and temporal dynamic changes and the driving forces in the reduction of surface area of Ebinur Lake has important theoretical and practical significance for the arid zone lakes.