In order to understand the effect of lightning on the trace gases in the upper troposphere,this paper studies the spatial and temporal characteristics of NO and O_3 volume fraction in the upper troposphere, the global lightning activity,and their relationships. The lightning data from April 1995 to June 2006 and the trace gases data from October 1991 to November 2005 are obtained from Global Hydrology Resource Center(GHRC) and the Halogen Occultation Experiment(HALOE) boarded on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS),respectively. Results show that global lightning concentrates in Southern Hemisphere from December to next February,and in Northern Hemisphere from June to August. Global lightning activity is in agreement with NO and O_3 volume fraction in seasonal variations. NO volume fraction reaches the maximum at 350 hPa. At this height,NO volume fraction is from 7 * 10~(- 12) to 11 * 10~(- 12) in Southern Hemisphere,while is from 3 * 10~(- 12) to 17 * 10~(- 12) in Northern Hemisphere. At the height range from 450 to 300 hPa,O_3 volume fraction in Northern Hemisphere in summer increases obviously, which is about 25% more than the annual average. Comparatively,O_3 volume fraction in Southern Hemisphere in summer is bigger than that in winter,but the difference is not obvious. All the results prove that there are good relationships between the lightning and NO/O_3 in the upper troposphere. It provides powerful evidences on the research of global climate change.