Based on remote sensing data on land use provided by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and socioeconomic data collected by the authors, this paper analyzes the trends and regional differences in built-up area (BUA) expansion in China from the late 1980s to 2000, and empirically estimates the major determinants of BUA expansion in different regions in 1996-2000. In 1989-2000, although Chinas overall BUA expansion accelerated, the trends differed significantly among regions. BUA expansion in the central and western regions accelerated significantly, but it slowed down considerably in the eastern region. The estimation results from our econometric analysis reveal that BUA expansion in the eastern region reached a period when economic growth had no further significant impact on per capita BUA, the land utilization in this region has become more intensive with further expansion of the economy. In the central and western regions, the BUA has expanded remarkably due to the relatively more flexible land development policies and the relatively cheap land prices. Therefore, as the economy continues to grow rapidly, policies relating to BUA expansion and cultivated land reductions may face more serious challenges in the central and western regions.