Abstract: Based on the five temporal  Landsat TM remote sensing data of 1988, 1992, 1997, 2000, and 2004, and by using GIS spatial analysis and landscape pattern analysis, this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal pattern of urban growth and its driving forces in the urban agglomeration of central Liaoning Province (UACLP). From 1988 to 2004, the urban area in the UACLP had being increased from 812.55 km² to 1345.86 km², with an average growth rate of 32.96 km² per year. The urban growth rate increased rapidly after 1997, and the urban growth intensity was up to the peak in 1997-2000. The urban growth was mainly concentrated in the central dense belt of the UACLP. From 1988 to 1997, the urban growth was relatively slow, its spatial pattern was compact, and edge growth and filling were the main urban growth types. From 1997 to 2004, the urban growth became faster with diffused spatial pattern and  complex patch shape, and “frog leap” and diffusion were the main urban growth types. Non-agricultural population growth, economic growth, urban spatial mutual attraction, industrial development, and development zones construction policies were the main driving forces of urban growth in the UACLP.

Key words: urban agglomeration of central Liaoning Province (UACLP), urban growth, urban spatial pattern, driving force, Ilex cornuta, endophytic bacteria,  , inhibitory effect, metabolic substance.