The occurrence of late frost damage in the key phonological period of winter wheat needs to be further analyzed in the context of continuous global warming. Based on daily minimum ground temperature from 61 meteorological stations in Huaihe River basin from 1960 to 2016, combining the phonological date of winter wheat and late frost date, we have calculated the frequency, intensity and coefficient of variation of late frost, and a frost hazard index was constructed. We obtained the temporal and spatial changes of late frost damage in the growing season of winter wheat. The results showed that the late frost date is between March 11th and April 15th in recent 57 years. As a whole, the late frost date showed an earlier trend, with the rate of -2.49 d·a~(-1)(P<0.05). Under the background of the extended growing season of winter wheat, in the past 57 years, the number of mild, moderate and severe late frost showed a decreasing trend, with the change tendency rate of-9.14 times·a~(-1)(P<0.01),-1.17 times·a~(-1)(P>0.05), and-5.81 times·a~(-1)(P<0.01), respectively. For inter decadal variation, the frequency of severe frost significantly increased in the period from grain filling to maturity with a propensity of 6.73 times·a~(-1)(P<0.05) in 1980s. Mild frost significantly increased at jointing stage, with the trend rate of 1.80 times·a~(-1)(P<0.05) between 1961 and 1990. Severe frost showed significant decreasing trend at jointing stage with a propensity of-3.46 times·a~(-1)(P<0.01) between 1981 and 2010. The late frost damage of winter wheat in different growing periods showed large spatial differences, with different distribution patterns. Starting from the jointing date, the high-risk area and the second-highest risk area took up the largest percentage of late frost damage after jointing stage(1-5 days), reaching to 0.63% and 80.68%, respectively. The mild risk zone from heading to flowering stage(12-15 days) accounted for 81.68% of the total area, and the lower risk area accounted for the largest proportion(57.49%) from grain filling to maturity stage(15-57 days). It can be concluded that different degrees of the frequency in late frost decreased at different rate, and spatial distribution varies greatly at different growth stages.