From 1997 August to September, 25 typical surafce surface features were investigated in the field and the reflectivities of 10 channels of them were determined on the spot in.llantai Salt Lake, Inner mongolia and its periphery.Based on geological characteristics of Jilantai Salt Lake, 25 typical surface features can be divided into 5 types which are vegetation, base rocks, waters, chemical sediments and loose deposits-Through studying the characteristics of the reflectivities of typical surface features and their influencing factors and according to the formation principle of infrared aerial photo and LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM) image, the authors established symbols of remote sensing interpretation in Jilantai Salt Lake.