Remote sensing technology with the characteristics of rapid

economical and macroscopic provides an important real-time dynamic data source for drought monitoring and decision making.In this paper

monitoring methods based on remote sensing data are overviewed and classified into four kinds:soil thermal inertia methods

soil spectrum characteristic methods

evapotranspiration model methods and vegetation index methods.The monitoring principle

applicability and advances for each method are presented.Combination with the drought of Southwest China occurred in the spring of 2010

a drought remote sensing method using vegetation water indices is introduced including monitoring model

data processing and application analysis.And the monitoring results are statistical analyzed and evaluated.