Both rapid urbanization and industry conversion based on the life cycle of resource have great effects on the land use change and pattern of mining cities. So, land use change in mining cities was a special process strongly affected by the human-land relationship. Therefore, based on LANDSAT TM remote sensing images in 1987, 1994, 2000, 2003, 2007, and on maps of urban land use status in 1994 and 2003, database was established on land use of the mining city--Xuzhou urban area. Then features on the process and pattern of land use change were disclosed by using quantitative change models such as dynamic degree, intensity, LUD, LUC and spatial analysis methods including gravity center changes, interpolation analysis, spatial differentiation and fan analysis. Further, the mechanism of land use change was analyzed. Results show that: (1) Farmland keeping reducing and built-up land keeping increasing was the main characteristic of the land use change. Therefore, on one hand, we should meet the need of rapid urban land expansion, on the other hand we should strengthen arable land protection. (2) The spatial distribution of built-up area expansion showed the step character from separated patch increasing, radial infill expansion to allometric expansion and double-center evolution. Further study should be done on the time-space pattern of land use in mining cities. (3) Land use change resulted from several factors. Natural conditions will take effect a long time. Mineral resources were always playing an important role in the shape and the evolution of land use. Economic factors, such as industrialization, urbanization and adjustment of industrial structure, were the leading force of the land use structure evolution. Under this background, city spatial planning, especially the rational planning of the industrial zones, economic development zones and the new city zones were the important force of built-up expansion evolution. Transportation, especially rapid transit network was a strong traction force of land use changes. (4) Land use pattern was affected by the distribution of the mineral resources and spatial pattern evolution of mining city land was affected by the life cycle of mineral resources. Mineral resources together with natural conditions and economic factors always had great effects on mining city land use. As mineral resources exhausted, adjustment of land use structure should be speeded up in mining cities. (5) Methods need to be improved for further study on the characteristics and the mechanisms of mining cities.