The combustion of fossil fuels, followed by changes in land use, is an important source of carbon dioxide production. More than 80% of carbon emissions come from urban areas, but studies often ignore the relationship between human settlement, the environment and the carbon cycle. Not sufficient attention was devoted to studying the role of urban systems in global climate change and in the carbon cycle, particularly carbon- accounting inventory at the city level. This study explores the land use change that led to changes in carbon emission intensity in Harbin City from 2004 to 2012. It used land use and energy consumption data to better understand the effects of carbon emissions in Harbin. In this article, we measured the major land use types and carbon emissions (and absorptions) for the 9 years, and then gave an analysis of the situation of the carbon emission per unit, and discussed the effects of different land use change on carbon emissions. Finally, we estimated carbon emission for the year of 2020, providing references on low-carbon development in Harbin. The results showed that: 1) carbon emission was 361.451*104t in 2004, and reached 1875.658*104t in 2011; 2) construction was the main type carbon emission area, accounting for 96.987% of the total annual carbon emission; woodland was major carbon sink areas, accounting 99.907% of the carbon sinks, and the total absorption was about 1523.030*10~4 t of carbon per year; 3) the carbon emission intensity in Harbin increased from 0.681 t/hm~2 in 2004 to 3.534 t/hm~2 in 2012; 4) land use for construction showed a rapid growth in carbon emission before the year of 2008, and after that showed a slow and uneven growth; 5) the estimated carbon emission in 2020 will be 3558.264*10~4 t for construction land; while the total carbon emissions will be 2055.839*104, compared to the year of 2012 will increase 180.181 *10~4 t, with an annual average growth rate of 1.153%. With continued urbanization and industrialization, carbon emission shows an increasing trend in Harbin, and it has a definite impact on the ecological environment. We suggest the following for controlling carbon emission. First is to improve the carbon heating situation in winter. Harbin has a long and cold winter, with a heating period up to six months. The heating energy structure is still dominated by coal, and the use of clean fuels is much lower. Worse, industrial development and heating using coal are increasing, so to optimize energy supply and improve energy efficiency, and Harbin should strengthen development and use of low-carbon technologies. Second is to develop acarbon sinksmodel in Harbin to look for a suitable mode of forest resource management, and constantly to enrich Harbins carbon sink economic resources. Last is to promote the idea of establish a low-carbon life-style.