A spatial database of wetland landscape was constructed by using Landsat images from 1973 to 2016 to reveal the evolution of the wetland landscape in the Yellow River Delta. In this study, the composition,spatial and temporal variations in wetland landscapes were analyzed. Besides, the evolution trend of wetland landscape pattern was also discussed based on landscape pattern index. Moreover, combining with the centroid model, the spatial location variations in wetland landscapes were analyzed. The results showed that salt marshes in the Yellow River Delta are mostly located around the coastal belts, and the freshwater wetlands are mainly distributed on both banks of the Yellow River, while the artificial wetlands are mostly distributed around the coastal areas within 15km away from the coastline and the Yellow River banks. Over the whole study period, the total area of wetlands in the Yellow River Delta showed a descending tendency. Because large area of natural wetlands which were dominantly covered by reed, suaeda heteroptera-Ttamarisk and reed-Ttamarisk, were converted into artificial wetlands and non-wetlands. The wetland landscapes of the Yellow River Delta showed a trend of area shrinking and fragmentation. The spatial configuration of wetland landscapes was fragmented, diversified, and shape was simplified, which was characterized of artificial wetland landscapes. As affected by the Yellow River changing from Diaokou to Qingshuigou, and its sufficient water supply, wetlands in the Yellow River Delta mainly expanded to the northeast direction which was dominated by freshwater wetlands during the period from 1973~1985. After 1985, the Yellow River changed from Qingshuigou to Qingbacha, besides, the runoff of the Yellow River was cut down. The wetland degradation occurred in the southeast of the Yellow River Delta. That spatial location variations in the Yellow River Delta was mostly controlled by the salt marshes in the whole period.