Potential evapotranspiration(ET_0)is an important reference for the accurate estimation of crops'water demand and for the reasonable formulation of a farmland management system.Analysis of the sensitivity of ET_0 to meteorological factors is of great significance for assessing the utilization efficiency of land water resources in a region.Based on the daily weather data from 20 meteorological stations in Shaanxi Province from 1955 to 2015,we used the FAO-56Penman-Monteith equation to calculate daily ET_0.Then we used the sensitivity formula to calculate the sensitivity coefficients of ET_0 to the main meteorological factors,such as the daily maximum temperature(STH),daily minimum temperature(STL),relative humidity(SRH),wind speed(SAW),and sunshine duration(SSD).We explored the temporal and spatial distribution features and variation trends of the sensitivity coefficients and quantitatively analyzed the contributing factors to ET_0 variation in view of the multi-year variation of the meteorological factors.Results showed that the meteorological factors sorted by the annual variation amplitude of the sensitivity coefficient of ET_0 to these factors were SRH >SSD >STL>SAW >STH.The sensitivity of annual average ET_0 in Shaanxi Province to the meteorological factors all reached the middle or above level.It was the most sensitive to SRH.The interannual variation trends of sensitivity coefficients showed a big difference between the north and south,and they also showed different spatial distribution characteristics.The complicated nonlinear relationship between ET_0 and the key meteorological factors caused the dominant meteorological factors of ET_0 to differ across different meteorological stations and to show obvious spatial difference.