Disaster reduction and proper pre-disaster preparedness are an important issue in sustainable development and in achieving the sustainable development goals.Despite frequent natural disasters and huge losses in China,few studies are available on the frequency and affected areas of past disasters.Information of dating,magnitude and scope of past landslides,debris/mud flows,rockfalls,rush floods and earthquakes is critical to understand disaster frequency and to predict future risk of disasters,and is essential to make practical planning of pre-disaster preparedness and disaster reduction.But such information is usually not readily available.Dendrochronology has unique advantages in providing needed information. Growth of trees depends on environmental factors of light,temperature,moisture,soil nutrients and other plants.Changes in a factor can affect tree growth that can usually be easily observed in tree rings.Tree rings record changes in both tree growth rate and environmental conditions.There is a high correlation between tree growth rate changes and environmental changes.With increasing climate change impacts and ever intensifying human activities on the nature,there has been an increase trend in frequency,magnitude,severity and losses of natural disasters.Disasters can directly damage,wound or even kill trees.Disasters can also cause trees to tilt and bend,or affect tree growth rate through eliminating trees or damage to trees.Trees respond to these impacts by changes in tree ring width,or formation of reaction wood,as trees use the available resources to maintain its survival and to make new tissues to replace the damaged ones.In the study of response process and mechanism of trees to natural disasters,a series of research methods/methodologies have been developed in dendrochronology.The study of tree rings can reveal the history and characteristics of past natural disasters.It has great advantages in studying the time and influence of such disasters as earthquake,debris flow,landslides, rush floods,rockfalls in mountains.Recent studies of application of dendrochronology in these disasters are reviewed.New areas of future research interests are proposed.