Abstract: Based on multitemporal Landsat MSS/TM/ETM⁺ images, and by using decision tree method, this paper extracted the areas of emergent herbaceous wetlands with different water levels in 1989-2011 in the East Dongting Lake, China. The change characteristics and change trends of the emergent herbaceous wetlands areas were investigated based on the DEM data and the daily water level data from the Chenglingji Hydrological Station. The area of the emergent herbaceous wetlands was significantly affected by water level (R²=0.875, P<0.001), presenting a significant linear relationship between the two. Moreover, the emergent herbaceous wetlands area decreased with increasing water level. The higher the water level, the smaller the effects of the water level on the emergent area were. The emergent area changed regularly with water level. In January-July, water level increased, and the emergent area decreased; in July-December, it was opposite. In 1989-2011, the areas of emergent herbaceous wetlands had a continual increase. The newly emergent herbaceous wetlands area was mainly transformed from mudflat. The emergent herbaceous wetlands expansion was the co-effects of the increase of the emergent herbaceous wetlands areas at different elevations, and the rapid expansion of the emergent herbaceous wetlands in low bottomland (22-25 m of Yellow Sea elevation) played the most important role in the expansion. The change of water level at different elevations was the dominant cause for the changes of emergent herbaceous wetlands areas in the East Dongting Lake in the past 20 years.