[Objective]To grasp the current status of cultivated land resource development and its influencing factors in Gansu Province, provide support for formulating precise and effective policies for cultivated land development and protection, and promote the green and sustainable development of cultivated land. [Methods]Taking 14 prefecture-level cities in Gansu Province as research units, this study quantified the intensity of cultivated land development and employed methods such as the Theil Index, standard deviational ellipse, and gray correlation analysis to reveal the spatiotemporal pattern evolution characteristics and influencing factors of cultivated land development intensity in Gansu Province from 2004 to 2023. [Results](1) Over the past 20 years, the intensity of cultivated land development in Gansu Province has fluctuated and increased. The spatial distribution exhibits significant heterogeneity, presenting a pattern of "higher in the east, lower in the west; higher in the south, lower in the north." High-intensity areas are concentrated in the middle and eastern parts of the Yellow River Basin, while low-intensity areas are distributed in the southwest and west.(2) The spatial differentiation of cultivated land development breadth in Gansu Province shows a pattern of "higher in the east, lower in the west; higher in the south, lower in the north," with a continuous decline over time. The high-value areas of cultivated land development depth transition from north to south, and the scope of low-value areas gradually narrows. The frequency of cultivated land development is "higher in the central region, lower in surrounding areas," with growing disparities among prefecture-level cities.(3) The intensity of cultivated land development in Gansu Province has formed relatively stable spatial agglomeration characteristics. The center of gravity has shifted northwestward as a whole, and the area of the standard deviational ellipse has increased from 135,816.83 km2 to 144,192.68 km2, indicating an increase in spatial dispersion.(4) Over the past 20 years, the total Theil index of cultivated land development intensity in Gansu Province has fluctuated slightly from 0.2180 to 0.1680. Among them, the contribution rate of inter-group differences has remained between 59.83% and 70.56%, dominating the total regional differences. The Hexi region’s contribution rate to inter-group differences ranges from 45.02% to 58.50%, making it the primary driver of changes in cultivated land development intensity differences in Gansu Province.(5) The differentiation of cultivated land development intensity in Gansu Province is not determined by a single factor but jointly driven by multiple factors, with?natural environmental factors > socioeconomic factors. Natural environmental factors play a decisive role in development intensity, breadth, and depth, while socioeconomic factors play a decisive role in frequency. [Conclusion]The change in cultivated land development intensity in Gansu Province is a dynamic process dominated by natural environmental factors and assisted by socioeconomic factors, characterized by obvious spatial heterogeneity and agglomeration, with a fluctuating upward trend over the years.