Abstract: Most of the coastal land of Jiangsu Province came into being due to the coast advance caused by the capture of the Huaihe River by the Huanghe River in the 12th century, consisting of two parts: the alongshore land about 10-20 kilometers in width and the tidal flat of about 4800 square kilometers. By centuries management it has been developed into an intensive farming area in which salt industry and aquatic products industry have been developed to some extent. The land use in this area influenced by natural features,resource structure and human activities is characteristic of the following. 1) The land use patterns in the area are more diverse than in contiguous inland area. 2) Different segments have different land use patterns. Salt industry are dominant sector in northern part, while cultivation and aquatic products industry in southern part. 3) All patterns of land use are interrelated and interact on each other, benefit or restrict each other. 4) The land use patterns are easy to change with natural and socioeconomic conditions. One must keep the above characteristics in mind when making project for using and developing the coastal land. In order to change the sigle-product economic situation we should pay attention to not only the dominant sector of certain segment but also the comprehensive utilization of natural resources.