Drainage patterns can sensitively record the process of active structures, especially in the lateral folding growth area. The active growth of Kuqa fold and thrust belt parallel to the folding belt of South Tianshan orogenic belt has a prominent topographic feature,extending ~300 km in the E-W direction. The qualitative analysis of remote sensing data, satellite imagery and digital topography can put insight into the growth, lateral propagation, and interaction of individual fold segments in the Kuqa foreland fold and thrust belt.