The change of landscape pattern affects the regional ecological security and sustainable development. The study on the spatio-temporal change characteristics of urban landscape pattern has a certain guiding significance to the optimization of landscape pattern in arid areas. Based on the land use data of 1987, 1995, 2000, 2006, 2011 and 2016, the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of landscape pattern in Zhangye City were studied by using landscape pattern index calculation method. The results showed that:(1) The unused land was the main landscape type in Zhangye City in 2016, and the maximum patch index and patch aggregation degree were the highest, followed by grassland and cultivated land, and the grassland patch number and density were the largest. (2) The landscape pattern of Zhangye City showed obviously regional differentiation characteristics, and the gradient zone of circle layer revealed the change of oasis-desert land. The fragmentation degree in the first gradient zone increased firstly and then decreased during the study period, and the Zhangye City expanded rapidly from 2006 to 2016, while the fragmentation degree in the rest gradient zones increased year by year. In terms of spatial evolution, the change of residential area on the circle layer is "L" shape, and the unused land is "N" shape. From the central area to the periphery area, Zhangye City was divided into oasis urban area, oasis agricultural area and natural landscape area successively. (3) The horizontal transect revealed the land use change of mountain, oasis and desert, and Zhangye City was divided into four regions:oasis urban area, oasis agricultural area, desert area and mountain area. The annual change of landscape fragmentation degree in northwest-southeast transect is irregular, and fluctuated through residential area in space. The landscape level index from the northeast to southwest transect fluctuated through residential areas during the study period, and the annual change was relatively stable in the remaining areas. The landscape heterogeneity of the central urban area was strong. (4) The river transect was divided into upper, middle and lower sections by human activities. The landscape index of the transect and the lower section remained stable, and the unused land was the main part, while the upper section had some woodland and grassland. The landscape index in the middle section fluctuated in space, and the landscape types were mainly unused land and cultivated land.