AbstractLand evaluation is an important basis for landscape and land use planning. A framework was developed for land evaluation in an area of severe erosion, focusing on integrative, process and ecological analyses. Two classification systems, soil quality and erosion risk, were combined in the land evaluation framework. The Quanjiagou catchment, with typical loess hill and gully topography, in the loess plateau of China was selected as the study area. A geographical information system (GIS) was used for data storage, analysis and display. The soil quality classification was based on the main characteristics of the soils (soil organic matter, effective depth of soil and soil moisture); four soil quality classes were defined in the study area. Slope, micro‐landform type and the type and processes of soil erosion were integrated to classify the erosion risk. The soil qualities and erosion risk for each site were combined using the GIS to evaluate the suitability of the land for farmland, grassland and forest. By comparing these results with the current land use, measures for better land use and conservation are suggeste