The runoff in Hailiutu River basin, China has changed due to both climate change and human activities like water and soil conservation. From 1960 to 2000, there was a significant decrease in annual precipitation, river runoff, and monthly runoff in all months. Peak flow and base flow also decreased. The joint impact of precipitation change and human activity led to a 35 million m3 decrease in mean annual runoff from 1960-1985 to 1986-2000. Precipitation change mainly caused the decrease in annual runoff, while human activity, especially water and soil conservation construction, also had a notable effect on runoff variation.