Abstract: The analysis of the changing characteristics and the driving factors of fertilizer application in main grain producing areas can help reduce fertilizer application while maintaining effective supply of grains and other principal agricultural products. Based on the survey data from 13 main grain producing provinces in China from 2005-2015 and applying the factor decomposition method, this paper analyzed the driving forces of fertilizer application growth in China. Results indicate that the increase of fertilizer application intensity is the main contributor to the overall growth of fertilizer application, followed by the expansion of planted area. The contribution of planting structure adjustment is not significant. Since 2010, however, the contribution of the growth of fertilizer application intensity has decreased, while that of planting structure adjustment has increased. According to various categories of crops, grain crop growth of fertilizer application intensity and the expansion of the planted area are the main contributors, while that of horticultural crops ranks the second, and that of traditional economic crops increases little. In addition, geographical differences also have different impacts. For the northern grain producing areas, the main contributor is the increase of fertilizer application intensity, followed by the expansion of planted area. For the southern grain producing areas, the contributions of the expansion of the planted area and the increase of fertilizer application intensity are roughly equal. To reduce the quantity of fertilizer application in the main grain producing areas, the Government’s efforts should focus on enhancing the application efficiency of fertilizer, promoting fertilizer saving breeds, and substitute chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers for horticultural crops.