Abstract: The Shendong mining area is a significant coal-producing area in China. Against the backdrop of climatic amelioration and large-scale coal mining, vegetation in the Shendong mining area has been influenced negatively by coal mining and positively by climatic amelioration and ecological restoration. Long time-series quantitative monitoring and assessment of vegetation cover in the mining area using remote sensing techniques play a significant role in local ecological quality management and ecological conservation. Based on Landsat satellite imagery data, this study conducted a long time-series monitoring of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in the Shendong mining area over a nearly 40-year period from 1986 to 2023. This monitoring focused on the interannual variations, variation trends, stability, and future variations of vegetation cover in the mining area. Moreover, this study performed a segmented quantitative analysis, taking 2008 (the onset of large-scale coal mining) as a demarcation point. The results indicate that climatic amelioration over the past nearly four decades has facilitated vegetation growth in the Shendong mining area. Despite the negative impacts of large-scale coal mining on surface vegetation, more favorable climatic conditions and ecological restoration efforts in the mining area have ensured a continuous improvement in vegetation cover, with a higher restoration rate observed locally. The Shendong mining area was characterized by improved vegetation cover across different stages,with the improved area exceeding 80 %. Large-scale coal mining caused limited vegetation deterioration, predominantly occurring in the open-pit mining area. In contrast, the vegetation restoration project in the underground mining area effectively ensured a favorable environment for vegetation growth. The vegetation cover in the Shendong mining area remained relatively stable at different stages. During large-scale coal mining, significant vegetation cover fluctuations occurred primarily in the stopes and waste dumps of the open-pit mining area. The underground mining area exhibited relatively stable vegetation cover overall, except for the land used for industrial and mining construction. Concerning future variations of vegetation cover, the Shendong mining area exhibited a relatively limited capability to maintain its current state. Due to large-scale mining activities, 3.92 % of the area underwent continuous degradation, which was primarily observed in the stopes of the open-pit mining area. This highlighted the urgent need for artificial ecological restoration in the stopes. The results of this study provide a reliable data reference for the supervision of ecological quality in the Shendong mining area, facilitating the more scientific and efficient establishment of a comprehensive ecological prevention and control system.