The scale and layout of industrial land in large cities have changed dramatically in the process of Chinese economic transformation since the Reform and Opening up, which has profoundly influenced the spatial pattern of cities. Taking Xi’an as an example, this study adopts a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods based on multi-source data and it is found that the area of industrial land in Xi’an showed a trend of continuous growth followed by rapid decrease from 1974 to 2019, and the spatial layout changes have significant characteristics of suburbanization and de-industrialization in urban centers in the process of park-oriented spatial aggregation. The layout pattern has changed from "group layout+fan-shaped expansion" in the early stage of Reform and Opening up to "circle expansion+axial expansion+jumping agglomeration" in the increment planning period to "park-oriented spatial aggregation in the suburbs" in the inventory planning period. The main driving forces for the evolution of industrial land layout are helping enterprises to relieve their difficulties, urban growth, improvement of living and housing conditions, and economic value of land. The suburbanization and the de-industrialization in urban centers have caused many urban problems such as separation of jobs and housing, traffic congestion, which are not conducive to the healthy and sustainable development of cities.