Abstract: Based on the theory of spatial poverty and the GIS mapping technology, this study constructs an evaluation index system of spatial poverty in rural areas and evaluates the spatial poverty in 85 counties of Gansu Province in 2016 by the GRA-TOPSIS model. In addition, this paper also conducts a comprehensive analysis of regional differentiation characteristics and its influencing factors of spatial poverty in rural areas by the spatial autocorrelation method and the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. Results show that: 1) the degree of spatial poverty in rural areas of Gansu is generally deep, and the regional differences are significant, showing the spatial characteristics of “high southeast and low northwest”, and decreasing from the southeast to the northwest; 2）there are significant regional differences in economic, social and environmental poverty in rural areas in all counties. Among them, the spatial characteristics of the economic poverty and the social poverty are congregated significantly in rural areas, and the environmental poverty presents a spatial pattern of “high southeast and northwest and low central”; 3) from the pattern of spatial correlation, the spatial poverty in rural areas of Gansu shows significant spatial positive agglomeration characteristics. The High-High areas are mainly distributed in Longnan, the eastern part of Gannan, and the southern part of Dingxi, while the Low-Low areas are concentrated in Zhangye, Jiuquan and Jinchang; and 4) natural endowment, economic development, society and people’s livelihood, human resources and transportation as well as location are the main influencing factors of spatial poverty in rural areas of Gansu. The influencing effects of all factors feature a spatial difference. Natural endowment shows decreasing trend from the central to the southeast and the northeast. Economic development, human resources and transportation and location present a spatial distribution characteristics of “southeast-northwest”. Society and people’s livelihood illustrate the trend of gradual increase from the south to the north. Therefore, according to the characteristics of poverty areas and the causes of poverty, this paper provides some targeted poverty reduction strategies from the perspectives of industry, ecology, social undertakings and infrastructure in order to provide theoretical guidance for the targeted poverty elimination program in Gansu Province.