Drought is one of the most universal meteorological disasters in China. The occurrence of drought will adversely affect agriculture and ecological environment. In the context of global warming,the drought has become a major challenge facing the world. The Hexi Corridor is an important ecological barrier in the northwest of China. Due to its unique geographical and climatic conditions,the Hexi Corridor is a region that drought happens frequently. The frequent occurrence of drought has become an important factor restricting local agricultural and the utilization of water resources. The SPI index can quantify the precipitation deficit for multiple timescales, which can reflect the impacts of drought on different water resources needed by various decision-makers. It has been widely used in practice. Therefore,based on the monthly precipitation data of 15 meteorological stations in Hexi Corridor and its surrounding areas from 1960 to 2016,this paper uses the standardized precipitation index to characterize the annual and seasonal drought grades,analyzing the evolution of drought frequency,the station proportion of drought and drought intensity in Hexi Corridor. Its aim is to reveal the regularity of drought and provide reference for the prevention of drought disaster in Hexi corridor. The results show that: (1) In the past 57 years,the station proportion of drought in annual,spring,summer and winter showed a decreasing trend in Hexi Corridor,the station proportion of drought in autumn showed an insignificant increase. Among them,the biggest drops of the station proportion of drought was in summer. The frequency of large-scale drought in spring and autumn was higher than 29. 8%. (2) The drought intensity of the Hexi Corridor showed a decreasing trend at the annual and seasonal scales,among which the drought intensity in summer had the largest decrease. The drought intensity in the study area was dominated by mild drought and moderate drought. (3) The spatial distribution of drought has obvious regional characteristics,among which the drought of Jiuquan and Yumen were frequently. From the linear trend of the SPI index,66. 7% of the stations in the Hexi Corridor showed a decreasing trend on the annual and seasonal scales. The weakening of the drought is conducive to local agricultural and ecological environment. However,the precipitation and temperature in the Qilian Mountains and Hexi Corridor have both increased in the past few decades,this will lead to a greater possibility of local heavy rains and mountain flood disaster in the Hexi Corridor. Therefore,it is necessary to strengthen the defense of rainstorm and flood disasters at the same time of drought resistance.