China lies at the crossroads of four major global waterfowl migratory flyways and spans a broad latitudinal gradient. Numerous migratory birds either breed or overwinter within China's territory, and for many transient species, more than half of their migratory journeys occur within the country. Therefore, China serves as an indispensable stopover site for migratory birds that breed in the Arctic and Far Eastern regions. Notably, the waterfowl migratory routes in eastern China-covering parts of the East Asian-Australasian and West Pacific flyways-support key habitats that sustain waterbird abundance and diversity. The effectiveness of habitat conservation and management in China directly influences the survival and reproduction of global waterbird populations, drawing significant international attention. The Ramsar Convention established waterbird population criteria for designating international important wetlands. The criteria connected the conservation of wetland ecosystems with the protection of waterbirds. Thus, the conservation of wetlands landscape served as a fundamental measures for the security of migratory waterbird flyways. Investigating the evolution patterns and driving factors of wetland landscapes on Grus japonensis migratory routes was crucial for establishing ecological corridors to facilitate species migration, developing scientifically sound wetland restoration strategies, and maintaining the stability of wetland ecosystems. This study focused on the wetlands on the migratory routes of Grus japonensis, and obtained seven phases land use/cover data between 1990 and 2020. The spatiotemporal characteristics of wetland landscape pattern were recognized based on the State-and-Evolution Detection models (SEDM). The driving factors were also analyzed using geographical detectors techniques. The results showed that (1) The area of wetlands decreased by 7994km² between 1990 and 2000. Massive wetlands changed to croplands and artificial surfaces during this time. The area of wetlands increased from 2015 to 2020, most recovery wetlands was changed from croplands, forests, and water bodies, indicating the effectiveness of the wetlands restoration policies. (2) The evolution of the wetland landscape pattern had obvious phased characteristics. From 1990 to 2000, the evolution of the wetland landscape pattern was dominated by fragmentation, contraction, and reduction. The declining trend of wetlands area slowed down, and the changed grids decreased significantly from 2000 to 2015. The evolutionary patterns of wetlands landscape changed from reduction mode to expansion mode. While the expansion mode and emerging mode was dominated from 2015 to 2020, which reflected the tendency of wetlands restoration during this time. (3) In terms of the spatial distribution of the evolution of the landscape pattern, the evolution frequency of the wetland landscape was relatively high in the Songnen Plain, the Sanjiang Plain, the Yellow River Delta, and the coastal areas in Huanghai and Yancheng. The high evolutionary frequency of the Songnen and Sanjiang Plain in Northeastern China was mainly caused by the climate changes and the expansion of cultivated land, while the main reasons of wetlands landscape pattern changes were the reclamation of beaches, fishery and the construction of water conservancy projects. Overall, while climate change remained a significant driver of wetland landscape evolution, the shift from fragmentation to expansion had been primarily influenced by anthropogenic factors.