Abstract: Taking the river basin space as the research object for the integrated preservation of urban and rural historical settlement areas, a method for river basin historical and cultural space composition and coordinated preservation based on the traditional settlement spatial distribution 'characteristics-habitat' coupling analysis is constructed. Taking the Jialing River Basin as a sample area, this study explores and identifies the spatial distribution characteristics of 945 traditional town settlements in this geographical and cultural area, as well as their coupling relationship with natural and cultural habitats. The research results indicate that the distribution of traditional town settlements in the Jialing River Basin is generally agglomerative, with a high degree of coupling with the navigable waterways in the middle and lower reaches of the three major water systems of the Fujiang River, Qujiang River, and Jialing River, as well as the areas along land routes such as Jinniu, Micang, and Yuhe Ancient Road, and the main agricultural and mineral resource distribution areas in the basin; The average density is 0.58 per 100km², which is higher than other sub basin units in the Chuanjiang River Basin. Based on the above conclusions, traditional towns and settlements in the Jialing River Basin are divided into four types: transportation, agriculture, industry, and ethnicity. An integrated preservation structure for the historical and cultural space of the basin is proposed, with central town and urban nodes, water and land transportation corridors, mineral resources and ethnic settlement areas as point-line-plane elements, as well as coordinated preservation measures for the classification and zoning of basin settlements, in order to provide reference for the integrated preservation research of traditional settlements in the river basin spaces.