In recent years,sediment load in many rivers around the world has undergone significant changes,which may greatly affect ecological environment and economic development of the basin. Exploring the evolution of sediment load in the Weihe River will provide a theoretical basis for the comprehensive management of the Weihe River Basin and the regulation of water and sediment relations. This study attempted to investigate the spatial and temporal variation of sediment load in 15 hydrological stations in the Weihe River basin during the period of 1961-2015. The results showed that the average sediment load in the Weihe River Basin from 1961 to 2015 showed a significantly decreasingtrend. The annual sediment load atXianyang,Zhuangtou and Zhangjiashan stations decreased at a rate of 0.039 0 billion t/a,0.017 4 billion t/a,and 0.041 4 billion t/a,respectively. Among the 15 hydrological stations,the annual sediment load atZhangcunyistation showed a significant increasing trend,while Hongde,Yuluoping and Qingyang stations showed no significant decreasing trend,and the remaining stations showed significant decreasing trends (P<0.05). Both correlation analysis and partial least squares regression were applied to quantify the relationship between sediment load and potential driving factors. The sediment loadhad good correlations with the Precipitation Concentration Index,Vegetation Coverage Index,Grassland Area Ratio,Minimum Elevation,and Average Slope.