Abstract: To clarify the issues of overlapping and fragmented distribution of natural protected areas in Ningde City and reveal their spatial distribution characteristics.In this paper, the four types of natural protected areas（54 in total）in Ningde City as the research object, employing statistical analysis, spatial overlay analysis, kernel density estimation, geographical concentration index and the Moran's I Index to investigate their spatial distribution patterns and optimization pathways.The results show that:（1）the main types of nature protected areas are predominantly nature reserves and forest parks, with respective counts of 32 and 16.（2）The overlapping area of natural protected areas in Ningde City is 15496.82 hm²,the overlapping types of protected areas are predominantly nature reserves.（3）The conservation gap area in Ningde City is 323338.37 hm².（4）By region, Shouning County demonstrates the most concentrated distribution of protected areas（geographical concentration index G=38.1）,while Zherong County has the lowest（G=1.59）.By type, nature reserves show the highest geographical concentration（G=60.32）,whereas ocean parks exhibit the lowest（G=1.59）.（5）The overall spatial clustering degree of natural protected areas was moderate（Global Moran's I = 0.0839,P＜0.05）,exhibits a positive spatial auto-correlation with clustering.