Based on the basic database of resources and environment, an index system was constructed to evaluate the ecological sensitivity of land resources in China. We revealed its spatial distribution characteristics among different land use types and different agricultural areas. The main conclusions are as follows. 1) There are significant spatial differences in ecological sensitivity of land resources in China. Highly ecological sensitive areas are concentrated in four regions: the northern arid/semi-arid deserts with land desertification sensitivity, Loess Plateau with soil-erosion sensitivity, the southern hills with soil-erosion sensitivity, and the karst region in the southwest which is both sensitive to rocky desertification and soil erosion. 2) The ecological sensitivity of cultivated land, forests and grassland is significantly different. The sensitivity of cultivated land is lower than the others. Dry land in the north is more sensitive than paddy field in the south; forests are more sensitive to soil erosion and rocky desertification, mainly in the Greater Khingan Range-Changbai Mountains; grassland is highly sensitive to land desertification, mainly refers to the low-cover grassland in eastern Inner Mongolia. 3) The ecological sensitivity of land resources in the nine agricultural areas is generally high in the north and low in the south. According to the characteristics of land ecological sensitivity in different agricultural areas, various land use measures and ecological protection strategies should be implemented.