Taking Gansu Province as the research object, the evaluation index system of water-energy-food (W-E-F) system was established, and the coupling-coordination model was used to study the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of W-E-F system in Gansu Province during 2000-2016. The result showed that: the comprehensive evaluation index of the W-E-F system in Gansu Province showed a "N" shaped variaton trend, in which the development trend of the water resources system evaluation index changed greatly, which contributed most to the comprehensive evaluation index of the W-E-F. When the coupling degree of the W-E-F system was in the range of 0.21-0.32 in Gansu Province, the fluctuation range of variation was small and basically maintained a stable state. This indicates that the W-E-F system is in a low-level coupling and antagonistic stage. Whereas the coupling coordination degree of the W-E-F system was in the range of 0.21-0.42, the coupling coordination types were mostly disorder recession types, the coupling degree and coupling coordination degree differed between regions. Different factors have different directions and degrees of influence on different regions. The change of the resident population, per capita cultivated land area, effective irrigation area are consistent with the variation of the coordination degree of W-E-F system, while the urbanization and the coordination degree have both positive and negative effects, but regional GDP has no significant effect on W-E-F coordination.