Abstract: The solar radiation resources for photovoltaic power generation are generally affected by cloud. It is insufficient to explore the characteristics of solar radiation resources due to the limitation of traditional observation method. In order to solve this problem,the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of surface solar radiative cloud forcing in China from 2001 to 2018 are analyzed by using CERES satellite observation database. Based on the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of solar radiation and cloud fraction in various altitude,the influence of solar radiation in different cloud fractions are discussed. The trend estimation of solar radiation and photovoltaic output is calculated through the correlation coefficient between the cloud fraction at various altitude and the solar radiative cloud forcing. The cause of the trend of solar radiation dominated by cloud are analyzed,which provides support and reference for the evaluation of renewable energy resources,photovoltaic construction planning and power optimization scheduling in the future.