Abstract: This paper studied the spatial-temporal characteristics and rules of land use change in Jiangsu Province using theories and methods of geo-spectrum. Based on the land use data translated from remote sensing images of 1990, 2000 and 2010, we synthesized the geo-spectrum of the mode of arable land use change and that of land use change in two corresponding phases, 1990-2000 and 2000-2010, in Jiangsu using ArcGIS 10.0. The results showed that in the phase of 1990-2000, the major characteristics of land use change were swaps between the geo-spectrum unit of arable land and urban-rural construction land, arable land and water body, and arable land and grassland. Specifically, the patterns of “arable land → urban-rural construction land” and “arable land→ water body” were highly significant. We also found the reduction of arable land area and the concentration of its spatial distribution. In the phase of 2000-2010, the “arable land → urban-rural construction land” pattern was still the most salient characteristic. In addition, the patterns of “grassland → water body” and “urban-rural construction land → water body” became more spatially concentrated and tended to expand. Compared with the previous phase, the area of the land use in the phase of 2000-2010 had been changed expanded and became more scattered. Overall, the geo-spectrum of arable land use change in Jiangsu was mainly shaped by the anaphase change type and partially by the prophase change type, with a tiny influence of the repeated and continuous change.