Abstract: Based on the data of lightning in Anhui province from 2011 to 2021,the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of lightning were statistically analyzed.The results show that the negative lightning is the main type,accounting for 94.02% of the total number.The high-frequency period of lightning is from May to September every year,and the total lightning frequency and peak current of return stroke reach maximum and minimum in August,respectively.The positive lightning ratio increases with the decrease of the total number.For daily variation,the frequent period of lightning is at 14-19,which is corresponded to the active time of strong convective weather.The fluctuation amplitude of average peak current of return stroke is relatively small,and the peak value appears at 6.The average density of total lightning is 1.72 times/（km~2·a）,and presents larger in the southern area than that in the northern area,while the spatial distribution of total peak current of return stroke is roughly opposite.According to the principal component analysis on the lightning frequency,the cumulative variance contribution of the first 5 feature vectors reaches 90.05%,fully reflecting the overall abnormal structure of lightning,indicating both regional consistency and obvious difference between the northern and the southern area.The spatial distribution pattern can be divided into five types,that is the regional consistency type,the Dabie Mountains type,the eastern Huaihe-Yangtze River type,the southern-northern Yangtze River type,and along Huaihe River type.The water vapor conditions,thermal conditions and trigger mechanism in the southern Anhui are better than those in the northern region,so that thunderstorms and other severe convective weather are more frequently.