Based on the data of monthly precipitation and daily maximum temperature from 1961 to 2014, the distribution characteristics and spatio-temporal changes in compound hot-dry events in the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins were compared and analyzed based on two types of compound hot-dry events (3d/90% type and 5d/90% type). The temperature difference between compound hot-dry events and single heatwave events was quantified. The results showed that the frequency of compound hot-dry events was relatively high in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin, and the spatial difference was not significant in the Yellow River Basin. The frequency of compound hot-dry events in the two basins showed an increasing trend. The number of days of 3d/90% and 5d/90% type compound hot-dry events in the Yangtze River Basin increased by 0.19d and 0.14d per 10a, respectively, and the increase of the Yellow River basin was 0.29d and 0.096d per 10a, respectively. The number of compound hot-dry days in the Yangtze River Basin increased more in the northwest and southern regions, while the frequency in the northeast region of the lower reaches decreased. The number of compound hot-dry days in the Yellow River Basin increased more in the central and western regions. The area impacted by compound hot-dry events in the two basins from 1988 to 2014 was generally higher than that from 1961 to 1987, and the impacted area of the Yellow River Basin was larger than that of the Yangtze River Basin. Compared with the single heatwave events, the average temperature of the compound hot-dry events was higher. The average temperature difference between the 3d/90% (5d/90%) type compound hot-dry events and single heatwavce events in the Yangtze River Basin and the Yellow River Basin is 0.65 ℃ and 0.64 ℃ (0.54 ℃ and 1.21 ℃), respectively.