Abstract: To explore the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of water quality in major lakes of Wuhan City, and to identify the key driving factors and apportion pollution sources, principal component analysis, Spearman rank correlation coefficient and the APCS-MLR model were applied to eight lakes, including Liangzi Lake, Futou Lake, East Lake, Wu Lake, Lu Lake, Zhangdu Lake, Baoxie Lake and Houguan Lake. The results showed that: ① From 2013 to 2023, the water quality of the eight lakes was predominantly classified as Class Ⅳ, followed by Class Ⅲ, as specified in the Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water (GB 3838—2002). The dominant water quality control indicators included permanganate index, total phosphorus, total nitrogen and dissolved oxygen. ② In terms of interannual variation, before 2019, the concentrations of major control indicators exhibited a distinct year-by-year increasing trend; after 2019, they generally stabilized and even occasionally declined, with the exception of total phosphorus. In terms of intra-annual variation, water quality during the flood season was markedly inferior to that in the non-flood season. ③ Spatially, slight differences existed between historical and current distribution patterns. Overall, the water quality of lakes south of the Changjiang River was slightly better than that of lakes north of the Changjiang River. ④ Pollution source apportionment revealed that lake internal pollution and urban-rural non-point source pollution were the primary pollution sources, contributing nearly 80% on average to the main water quality indicators. Accordingly, priority should be given to strengthening the prevention and control of internal pollution and urban-rural non-point source pollution during the flood season.