Abstract: The enrichment of coal resources and the fragile eco-environment coexist in the Yellow River Basin (YRB).Therefore,it is urgent to solve the contradiction between the coal resources exploitation and the eco-environment protection.Meanwhile,the new pattern of high-quality coal development is in urgently need of construction.For this reason,the index system of Resources and Environment Carrying Capacity (RECC) was constructed,and the spatio-temporal pattern of RECC’s index in the YRB was revealed.Then,the calculation method of Coal Resources Exploitation Intensity (CREI) was re-examined,and the CREI of 42 coal mining areas in the YRB was quantified.Finally,the coupling coordination degree model was applied to measure the matching degree between the CREI at the mining area scale and the RECC at the regional scale.The results showed that the downstream was dominated by Advanced Coordination,which was significantly higher than that in the middle and upper reaches.However,the change trend in the middle and upper reaches was different.Thereinto,the middle reaches decreased from Primary Coordination (0.63) to Barely Coordination (0.55);the upstream was dominated by Primary Coordination,and the coupling coordination degree increased from 0.60 to 0.62.As the energy center shifts westward,the CREI continued to increase in Shanxi,Shaanxi,Inner Mongolia and Ningxia.Thereinto,the CREI was not matched with RECC in some coal mining areas,especially in Yuheng,Yushen,Wubao,and Liliu.Moreover,the Muli mining area in Qinghai has decreased from Barely Coordination (0.53) to Moderately Maladjusted (0.25),with a decline of more than 50%.Gansu has improved greatly as a whole,and each mining area has improved in varying degrees.On this basis,the strategy of protective exploitation and utilization of coal resources in the YRB was judged.① The “double protection of coal and water” in the YRB should be analyzed from the overall perspective of “water resources-coal resources-social economy-ecology”.② The coal exploitation mode which not match the RECC,is urgently needed to improve or withdraw.③ The coal resources exploitation should be coordinated with territory development plan at the larger scale.④ The utilization of abandoned mining areas should be strengthen.In view of the large regional span and many mining areas in the YRB,the point problems need to be solved urgently,the line problems cannot be ignored,and the area problems need to be paid more attention to.The coal mine areas could be divided into four zones in the YRB:Conservation region (mainly in Qinghai and Gansu),Aeolian-sand region (mainly in Inner Mongolia,Ningxia,and Shanxi),Loess Plateau region (mainly in Shanxi and Shaanxi),and Plain region (mainly in Henan and Shandong).In the future,the regional control,classified management,hierarchical restoration and stepwise promotion should be applied for coal resources exploitation and ecological restoration in the YRB.Moreover,the ecological protection and restoration,self-restoration and artificial restoration should be paid equal attention to,so as to provide scientific guidance for the ecological protection and high-quality development of coal in the YRB.