Based on Landsat images, the glacier inventory and digital elevation model, glacier boundaries in different periods of Qogir on the northern slope were extracted through computer-aided classification and visual interpretation methods. Comparative analyses for the glacier extent were made for the annual velocity of the glaciers from 1978 to 2014. It was found that 12 glaciers had undergone rapid progress, most of which occurred after 2004. The velocities of the glaciers were 200-3 000 m/a, and the 12 glaciers might be surging glaciers. Glacier change analysis showed that the unstable internal structure of the glaciers, i.e. being of long length, large area, low terminal altitude and multivariate temperature, and the increasing precipitation were the main causes for glacier surging on the northern slope of Qogir.