Abstract: On the assumption that aerosol concentration decreases exponentially with the increase of height, aerosol scale height can reflect the characteristic thickness of aerosols in the atmospheric boundary layer. In the present study, using Peterson and Gauss modeling, regression models of monthly mean aerosol scale height changes over time were fitted based on MODIS satellite-retrieved aerosol optical depth (AOD) data and near-ground visibility data at 20 stations in Hebei Province in 2012. Distribution maps of the average aerosol scale heights over the year 2012 and in the four seasons in Hebei Province were determined using Kriging interpolation. A generic model of temporal and spatial variations of the aerosol scale height was constructed based on the principle of total differential approximate calculation. The results showed that the highest aerosol scale height was 3.298 km in summer, while the lowest one was 1.597 km in winter. The aerosol scale heights were 2.864 km and 2.284 km in spring and autumn, respectively. The regional differences of spatial distribution of aerosol scale height were significant in summer, with the maximum regional difference being 3.193 km in summer. The regional differences were less significant in winter, with the maximum regional difference being 1.487 km in winter. At the provincial scale, when atmospheric particulate matter emission intensity and atmospheric boundary layer height changed 1%, aerosol scale height changed 0.577% and 0.143%, respectively. The relative contribution rates of the two factors to aerosol scale height were 80.1% and 19.9%, respectively. Atmospheric particulate matter emission intensity was the main contributor to spatial and temporal variations of aerosol scale height. At the regional scale of Hebei Province, where atmospheric particulate matter emissions intensity was greater, the contribution of atmospheric boundary layer height to aerosol scale height was greater, especially in the Central South Hebei Plain (63.7%), Cangzhou Coastal Plain (57.8%) and Eastern Hebei Plain (54.2%). Meanwhile, the contribution of atmospheric boundary layer height to aerosol scale height was smaller when atmospheric particulate matter emissions intensity was small, especially in the Central Hebei Plain (45.4%), Northwest Hebei Mountains (32.6%) and Northeast Hebei Mountains (8.6%).