Wildfire is a key disturbance factor in terrestrial ecosystems that greatly influences not only ecosystem patterns and processes, but also maintaining of diversity, productivity and nutrient cycling throughout global ecosystems. Fire is the result of interaction between natural and anthropogenic factors. The determination of the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of the fire regimes is critical for predicting the response of fire to climate change and designing strategic fire management plans. Inner Mongolia is an ideal area for studying the distribution patterns of wildfire because of its strategic location, high ecological value and severe wildfire hazards. Inner Mongolia endures severe wildfires, and the area burned by fire in the province is one of the highest among all the provinces in China. Here, we analyzed the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of burned areas and fire spots in Inner Mongolia using MCD45A1 burned areas(a monthly Level-3 gridded 500 meter fire burned area product) and MCD12Q1(Land Cover Type Yearly L3 Global 500 m SIN Grid) land use data for the period 2002-2014. Through the integration of precipitation data, the impact of precipitation on the characteristics of annual variations in wildfire was investigated. The results showed that: 1) the spatial distribution of fire spots gradually decreased from northeast to southwest and the high density areas were mainly distributed in the border region between China and Mongolia, the forest-grassland belt and typical arable zones. 2) The largest wildfire area in Inner Mongolia was in 2003, followed by 2006, and the smallest was in 2010. Analysis showed that the interannual change of burning area was closely linked to fire high-risk monthly precipitation anomaly. The happening of fire showed seasonal variations, which autumn and spring was high-incidence season, especially the months of March, April, May and September. The fire-burned areas in Xing'anling mountainous and hilly region, Hulunbuir plateau and hilly region, and Xilingol Plateau accounted for 90% of the total burned areas in the seven ecological zones of Inner Mongolia, with area ratios of 52%, 28% and 10%, respectively. 3) The fire-burned areas ranked from large to small was in the sequence of pasture land, agriculture land, woodland and other land use types in the study area. Fire spots were mainly distributed in meadow steppe and typical steppe zones. A large proportion of the fire enhanced recovery of old pastures overtaken by invasive species and secondary growth. This form of pasture management in Inner Mongolia was an important cause of wildfires in pasture lands. The practice of burning straw every spring and autumn also intensified the distribution of fire in typical arable lands, especially in the Nenjiangxian Plain, Hetao Plain and Songnen Plain. The fire-burned area in Xing'anling mountainous and hilly region and Hulunbuir plateau and hilly region had the same variation trend. The results were critically helpful in understanding the spatial and temporal patterns of wildfire and provided scientific basis for wildfire monitoring and alert system.