Daily temperature and precipitation data from 111 stations in southwestern China were analyzed, together with the record of glacier changes, to determine climate change and glacier behavior.Temperature patterns during 1961-2008 were consistent with warming at a statistically significant level, with an increased trend after the 1980s.Seasonal warming was greatest in autumn and winter.Temperature increase was more apparent in the west, where stations with statistically significant trends were located principally on the Xizang plateau, the Hengduan Mountains and the Yunnan plateau.Stations in the east, on the Guizhou plateau and in the Sichuan Basin, had either decreasing trends or no significant trend, indicating that warming was mainly at higher altitudes.Precipitation variations were less marked than those of temperature, generally with weak decreasing trends during 1961-2008.Increasing trends were apparent only in spring and winter, when regional trends of precipitation increase with altitude also were evident.The altitude dependence of temperature was evident in all seasons except spring, and precipitation increase mainly occurred in higher altitude area.Based on the further analysis, the different topography types have made an influence on the observed change.Climate change in southwestern China is also influenced strongly by large scale atmospheric circulation, but the urbanization effect on annual average temperature is inconspicuous.Against the background of increasing temperature, the 32 glaciers and 13 glacial basins has retreated, mass loss of 10 glaciers has been considerable, and glacial lakes in six regions have expanded and melt water discharge of four basins has also increased.