Rapid land use changes in the arid area of western China make the region a hotspot of global land use change research. In this study, land use inventories in the Hetian Tarim Basin in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2016 were completed by using stratified and object-oriented image processing method based on Landsat images with a consistent spatial resolution of 30 m to reveal the characteristics of land-use change, patterns and trend, and spatial heterogeneity. The results show that from 1990 to 2016: 1) Cropland continuously expanded with an increase rate of 2.9%/a, with gradual expansion and sudden reclamation. 2) The area of construction land increased significantly at a rate of 12.1%/a, which can be mainly attributed to the increase in area of urbanization, rural residential land, and transportation land. 3) The increase in cropland and construction land resulted in the decrease of forests, shrubs, and grasslands. 4) Spatial heterogeneity in land use developments among counties of Hetian Prefecture are significant: Hetian City had the highest percentage of construction lands; Hetian County and Moyu County experienced the greatest expansion in total area and rates of change in both cropland and construction land, followed by Luopu County, Yutian County, Pishan County, Cele County, and Minfeng County with relatively slow development in cropland and construction land. The increase rates of cropland and construction land in Hetian Tarim Basin are above average in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Attention should be focused on the impact of the rapid land-use changes on eco-environmental issues in the near future.