Breeding habitat suitability analysis has significance for the timely conservation and scientific management of threatened species. Zhalong Nature Reserve is one of the main breeding sites of the western group red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) migratory population, with a large, dynamic breeding population. With the objective of predicting the nesting habitat of red-crowned crane in Zhalong Nature Reserve, we obtained nesting occurrence records for this species from the study area collected from 2012-2013, extracted the environmental factors from the thematic mapper (TM) image of Zhalong Nature Reserve in 2013. We analyzed the nesting habitat suitability of red-crowned crane by the combined use of a GIS and MAXENT model. The results showed that the accuracy of the MAXENT model was excellent (training data area under the curve=0.901). The greenness vegetation index (34.9%), man-made interference (namely, the distance to frequently disturbed zones from human activity, 17.1%), soil wetness index (16.3%), and elevation (15.7%) were the main environmental factors influencing the nesting habitat selection of red-crowned crane. The central and south regions of the core zone were the main suitable nesting zones, and there was a small area of suitable habitat in the buffer zone and the experimental zone; the suitable nesting habitat area was 35857.35 hm², representing about 17.07% of the whole reserve. The results showed that the core zone is the most important management zone for red-crowned crane nesting, and the reserve should also pay more attention to the small reed marsh area in the buffer zone and the experimental zone.