A land use hierarchical system suitable for the whole coastal area of China was put forward and land use maps in 2000, 2005 and 2010 were created. Primary characters of coastal land use change and major conclusions are as follows: Area of farmland, forest and grassland decreased continuously, while built-up area and man-made wetland increased continuously. Urbanization, interchanges among farmland-forest-grassland and sea reclamation make up the overall dynamics of coastal land use change. Conflicts of land demands in inland area among various stakeholders have stimulated the rapid sea reclamation in inshore area and therefore, exerted great pressures on coastal wetland conservation. Modeling results confirm that, under the business-as-usual scenario, built-up area will go on expand significantly, and the decreasing trend of farmland will last, the sea reclamation is irreversible and therefore will go on exert great pressures on coastal wetland conservation. Ecosystem services theory, conflict regulation theory and integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) practices are recommended to authorities in coastal area in China.