Abstract: Formation of ground fracture in Xi'an results form tectonic movement,regional tension field and over-pumping of groundwater.Ground fractures cause severe damages to the buildings and bring difficulties to city planning.As the key city geo-hazard,ground fractures were attached importance by governments of different levels.The paper presents the geological setting,distribution,movement patterns in space and time,development features and formation mechanism of ground fractures in Xi'an.The paper also discusses methodology and techniques of ground fractures exploration.