The Tarim River is a typical inland river in arid area without runoff yield of itself, and water resources are all supplied by its headstreams. The method of time series analysis is applied to annual runoff series of three headstreams, namely the Aksu River, Yarkant River and Hotan River to analyze their dynamic variations. A model is established to estimate water consumption in the headstream areas. Quantitative results indicate that both total annual runoff of headstreams and water consumption in the headstream areas have an increasing trend. The dynamic trends of annual runoff of hydrologic stations along the mainstream of the Tarim River are also presented to estimate the intermittence drying-up time at each station. Water consumption model of the mainstream area is used to analyze the characteristics of water consumption in the upper and middle reaches. It is shown that water consumption in each river reach of the mainstream decreases with the decrement of inflow and increases with human activities. The Tarim River is a typical inland river in arid area without runoff yield of itself, and water resources are all supplied by its headstreams. The method of time series analysis is applied to the annual runoff series of three headstreams, namely the Aksu River, Yarkant River and Hotan River to analyze their dynamic variations. A model is established to estimate water consumption in the headstream areas. Quantitative results indicate that both total annual runoff of headstreams and water consumption in the headstream areas have an increasing trend. of hydrologic stations along the mainstream of the Tarim River are also presented to estimate the intermittence drying-up time at each station. Water consumption model of the mainstream is used to analyze the characteristics of water consumption in the upper and middle reaches. It is shown that water consumption in each river reach of the major decreases with the decrement of inflow and increases wit h human activities.