In the last years the whole planet has been suffering remarkable changes, including the land use and cover, and that this is one of the many components of the global change. The present study has as main objective described the changes of land use and cover occurred in the State of Sinaloa during the period 1976-2011. For this, we used 4 maps of land use and vegetation of 1976, 1993, 2007 and 2011. This analysis was carried out applying statistical techniques and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The methodology is based on the analysis of the cross-tabulation matrix or change matrix, from which it is possible to obtain indicators of change for each time interval analyzed (1976-1993, 1993-2007 and 2007-2011), as well as the gain and loss of each of the 10 categories contained in the maps. To raise the level of details in the analysis were studied the annual changes considering for this the intensity of the gains and annual losses. Also we elaborated graphs and maps that allow us describing and identifying the magnitude and spatial distribution of the changes. The results obtained show a deterioration in the rainforest, important changes in the irrigated and seasonal agriculture and the spatial exchanges in the forest areas, as well as a considerable increase in the urban areas.