Abstract: Two stream reaches-Huaxi and Xizhuang-with various kinds of land utilization and landscape patterns in the Nanming River Basin of Guiyang City were chosen as study objects. Ten-meter resolution SPOT imaging in the years 2000,5, 2010 and 2014 was used as data sources, and measured water quality data, based on both spatial analysis and statistical analysis, were used to evaluate the connection among land utilization, landscape patterns and water quality from the perspective of river buffer areas. The results showed the following facts:first, from the Huaxi reaches to the Xinzhuang reaches, there was a gradient along the rural landscape, rural-urban landscape and urban landscape, while the water quality deteriorated along the river. The differences were more apparent during the dry season. Second, the correlation between the landscape of river buffer areas from 0 to 500 m and water quality varied in different seasons. In the Huaxi reaches, a positive correlation was found between proportion of source landscape and dry season ρ(NH₄⁺-N) and ρ(TN); the corresponding correlation coefficients were 0.9978 and 0.9521. In the Xinzhuang reaches, there was a positive correlation between proportion of source landscape and dry season ρ(NH₄⁺-N), with a correlation coefficient of 0.9987. Finally, the diversity index of landscape and dry season ρ(TN) and ρ(TP) showed positive correlation; the corresponding correlation coefficients were 0.9581 and 0.8912. In conclusion, the proportion of landscape source is an important factor which affects water quality in the two reaches.