Abstract: This paper constructed the evaluation index system of forest carbon sink development potential by selecting 16 indicators from five aspects:forest resources,forest protection,social economy,climate effect and forestry industry.Then it used the entropy value method,spatial autocorrelation analysis and barrier degree model to analyze and evaluate the level of forest carbon sink development potential in 31 provinces of China from 2011 to 2020,and to explore its main barrier factors.The results showed that:①from the time dimension,the development potential of forest carbon sink in China was on an upward trend;②from the spatial dimension,the development potential of forest carbon sink in northeast,southwest,south and other forest areas were on an upward trend,and northeast forest area > southwest forest area > south forest area > other forest area,and after 10 years of development,the south forest area was the fastest developing forest carbon sink among the four major forest areas in China;③from the viewpoint of barrier factors,forest resources and forest protection were the main aspects limiting the development potential of forest carbon sink in China,and forest stock,live wood stock,total forestry output value,forestry land area and forest cultivation area were the main factors affecting the development potential of forest carbon sink in China.Forest stock,live wood accumulation,total forestry output,forest land area,and forest cultivation area were the main obstacles affecting the development potential of forest carbon sink in China.