Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. is an important native non-timber tree species. Its application in industry has been involved in medicine, food, health care, feedstuff, rubber, cosmetics, and landscaping. The estimation of E. ulmoides potential suitable distribution area is of highly importance, which would promote the resource protection, introduction, efficient tending and sustainable utilization. In this paper, to predict the potential suitable distribution area and the ecological characteristics of E. ulmoides in China, data of 601 geographical distribution points and 24 environmental variables were analyzed by the MaxEnt model and the spatial analysis technique. The suitable level of E. ulmoides in China could be divided into 4 grades. The highly suitable area reached to 380,100 km², which mainly distributed in the middle and low valleys in Daba mountain, the parallel ridge valleys in eastern Sichuan, the middle and low valleys in the western Hubei plateau and Dalei mountain, Wuling mountain and Xuefeng mountain, the Karst plateau and middle mountain in southern Sichuan, northern Guizhou and eastern Yunnan, and the low hills and valleys of Zhejiang and Fujian. The prediction of E. ulmoides optimum growth condition was the annual mean temperature of 11-16℃, the annual mean precipitation of 700-1450 mm, the temperature seasonality less than 820, the altitude below 1400 m and the slope below 24°.