[Objective] The present situation of gully erosion in a black soil area (450 km2) was evaluated to provide the basis for the hazard assessment and scientific prevention and control of erosion gully in the black soil area of Northeast China.[Methods] We selected an undulating hilly region that was seriously affected by gully erosion as the research area for a field survey. We first located the erosion gullies on a Google satellite image and then measured their three-dimensional shape in-situ.[Results] ① Land in the study area is mainly used for farming. The results showed that cultivated land

construction land

forest land

and grassland accounted for 85%

8%

6%

and 1% of the total area

respectively. ② Cultivated land on slopes accounted for 86% of the total cultivated land area; 64% of the slopes in these areas had a gradient of between 0.25° and 3.0°

and 12% had a gradient of > 5°. ③ We found 1 049 erosion gullies in the research area

55% of which were on cultivated land (577 gullies). The gully density was 1.2 km/km2 and the gully erosion intensity was moderate. The proportion of the gully area was 2.89% of the total study area

which indicated an intense erosion gully. ④ The average length

width

depth

and area of the erosion gullies were 996

13.1

2.7 m

and 2.4 hm2

respectively.[Conclusion] Gully erosion is serious in the study area of undulating hills

and mainly affects sloping cultivated land; however

the scale of erosion gullies is relatively small and the gullies can be easily managed.