The impacts of tourism development on the distribution of micro-and meso-scale vegetation types were evaluated for the Gudoushan Nature Reserve in Guangdong Province. The results show that: (1) Based on investigation in 10 plot areas, the impact index of phytoecology was generally high, indicating that tourism development has caused ecological degradation in the study area; (2) Tourist activities have major adverse impacts on the plants in either side of the tourist path, areas surrounding the scenic spots and shops; (3) The degree of impact on vegetation varied with landscape type and shows the following decreasing order: mountain meadow > mountain shrub > mountain forest; within forests, mixed forest > evergreen broad-leaved forest > rain forest; and artificial forest > natural forest; (4) Number of shade plant species, number of tree seedlings, litter thickness and species diversity index are among the good indicators for impact assessment while grass coverage gives a poor indication for the same purpose; (5) Human activities such as intermediate cutting in timber stands, road or tourist path construction have significantly adverse impacts on the landscape ecology; (6) From a standpoint of landscape ecology, evergreen mixed forest and monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest are more sensitive to tourism development and areas south of the service district and Mt. Nanwu are among the ecologically sensitive zones; (7) The multi-index approach provides a useful tool for early warning of ecological threat from improper tourism development which may assist the natural reserve managers in better managing the development of tourism in this area.