Abstract: The publication of David Harvey's Explanation in geography symbolized the successes of the so called quantitative revolution in geography. This book has commomly and correctly been seen as a milestone in geographical thought. However, it was still strange for most Chinese geographers. In order to avoid the detours experienced by the quantitative movement in overseas geography, and in order to promote the theoretical construction of Chinese geography, it is necessary to introduce the book to Chinese geographers.This article analyses the philosophical and methodological context of Explanation in geography, describes its main contents and frameworks, evaluates its contributions to geographical methodology and criticizes a few of its shortcomings and mistakes.

Key words: Theoretical geography, Methodology, Positivism