This paper introduces a sustainability assessment method for the rapidly urbanizing Yangtze River Delta in China addressing the role of land use pattern. We first calculated the sustainability component scores of 16 cities in the area in 2000 and 2005. The results showed that socioeconomic and environmental conditions improved while the performance of resource-use degraded from 2000 to 2005. We then made a spatial analysis of land use change (LUC) using geographic information systems during 1990-2000. We found that diverse spatiotemporal transformation occurred among the cities and identified urban development cluster patterns and profiles based on development density. Finally, we examined the impact of LUC on sustainable urban development (SUD). Using regression techniques, we demonstrated that urbanization, infrastructure development, industrial structure and income significantly affected environmental performance and resource-use. These results suggest a moderate pace of LUC with steady economic growth being key to SUD. © 2011 by the authors.