The dynamic changes of lake shoreline can reflect the changes in the lake. Taking Great Lakes region of Bosten Lake as the study area, the modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI) was used to extract water information based on Landsat remote sensing data and measured water level data from 1977 to 2021. Then, the shoreline development index and shoreline strength were used to analyze the dynamic changes of the shoreline, so as to clarify the main influencing factors. The results show that the north shore of the study area experienced the most significant changes from 1977 to 2021. Specifically, the shoreline moved to the south by up to 0.93 km from 1977 to 1989; moved to the north by up to 5.12 km from 1989 to 2003; then moved to the south again by up to 5.46 km from 2003 to 2013; lastly, moved to the north again by up to 5.11 km from 2013 to 2021. In terms of the shoreline length, it decreased gradually at a rate of 1.55 km/a from 1977 to 1989, increased at a rate of 16.34 km/a from 1989 to 2002, then decreased sharply at a rate of 22.67 km/a from 2002 to 2012, and increased again rapidly at a rate of 14.36 km/a from 2012 to 2021. Annual precipitation, annual temperature and runoff of the Kaidu River were the main natural factors affecting the changes of the shoreline, water level and water surface area in the study area. The length and tortuosity of the shoreline in the study area were significantly influenced by the water level and water surface area, and their changes were consistent with the shoreline length from 1977 to 2021.