Abstract: Using 250 m resolution MODIS NDVI data acquired from 2000 to 2015, the authors examined spatial-temporal features of NDVI in the Shendong mining area based on the methods of dimidiate pixel model, unary linear regression and rescaled range analysis(R/S analysis).The spatial pattern changes of vegetation cover was extracted and analyzed,and the development trend of vegetation in future was predicted.The results show that, during the past 16 years, the vegetation cover of the Shendong mining area has been rising with increasing rate of 8.9% / 10 a.Vegetation cover has been improved in most of the study area, in which the obviously improved area accounts for 50.43%, and the distribution tends to migrate towards the southeast of the mining area, while the deterioration area only accounts for 4.90% and is distributed on both sides of the Wulanmulun and Kuye Rivers and in the north and west gully regions.The Hurst indexes are between 0.35 and 0.45 in most of the mining area, accounting for 65.03% of the total area,and have a weak anti-sustainability.In the middle of the mining area the Hurst index is higher, whereas the Hurst index is lower in the west of the mining area.Combined with vegetation cover improved in the past 16 years, the vegetation cover in the mining area will have a weaker trend of degradation in future.Based on the analytical results of remote sensing data, the primary reason of the vegetation improvement lies in the fact that the Shendong mining area has paid attention to the environmental protection, and a scientific and high efficient comprehensive prevention and control technical system for ecological environment has been established and implemented.