Lakes are the major components of freshwater ecosystem. Building up a systematic and comprehensive picture of the evolution trend of lakes in China is of crucial significance for a dynamic understanding of the background account of lake resources and a scientific and orderly restoration of lakes. The distribution characteristics as well as the trends and causes of the evolution of major lakes in China over the past six decades were systematically examined based on fundamental surveys. Results revealed a remarkable change of major lakes in China in the past six decades. In the period between 1956-1979 and 1980-2000, the lakes shrank obviously, while between 1956-1979 and 1980-2000, such shrinking trend was gradually reversed. With year 2000 as the turning point, the lakes witnessed a tranform from large-scale shrinking of some lakes to small-scale shrinking of many small and medium-sized lakes; the increasing area of lakes gradually altered from the northeast region to the southwest and eastern regions. Sediment deposition and lake reclamation are main factors leading to lake shrinkage. The increase of natural inflow, the ecological replenishment and the restoration of ecological space are major reasons for the restoration of lake space after 2000.