The fragmentation of landscape caused by urbanization and over-exploitation of water resource could result in the degradation of ecosystem services in arid and semiarid regions. Dynamic monitoring of habitat variation is of great significance to maintain regional ecological security. Habitat quality decreased from 1990 to 2015, and the mean habitat quality decreased by 1.83% in the Zhanghe River Basin in China. The habitat degradation increased during the 1990-2010 period, then decreased in 2010-2015. The spatial pattern of habitat quality and land use type correlated: The highest values were mainly distributed in the northern hilly region with high vegetation coverage, while the lowest values were mainly located in the southern crop and construction lands. The highest habitat degradation level occurred mainly along the roads and the agricultural areas of the peri-urban fringe. The correlation analysis indicated that slope was the dominant factor (r = 0.72, p < 0.01) on habitat quality, followed by land use intensity (r =-0.57, p < 0.01). Furthermore, habitat quality was also affected by landscape pattern, and presented positive correlation with the Contagion Index, Shannon Diversity Index, Shannon Evenness Index, Landscape Shape Index and Mean Patch Size. These results could provide scientific basis for optimizing regional ecological environment and landscape management in arid and semiarid regions.