Using ArcGIS to extract water system data at different spatial scales, the adaptability and heterogeneity of Horton’s law and Hack’s law in the Yellow River, Huaihe River, Haihe River, and Yangtze River basins was investigated, and recommended values for branch ratio and length ratio parameters for seven types of geomorphic units were proposed.The results show that the logarithmic regression fitting correlation coefficient of Horton’s law is generally above 0.9, and the double logarithmic regression fitting correlation coefficient of Hack’s law is also above 0.6, indicating that the two laws have good adaptability in different landforms.Except for a few watersheds such as Datong River, Qindan River, and Xinjiang River, the branch ratio of each watershed is 3 to 5, and the length ratio is 1.5 to 3.0.Moreover, the Horton ratio of different geomorphic development stages shows a significant gradient decreasing trend, and the Horton ratio of different geomorphic units also exhibits a certain gradient distribution. The distribution similarity of Horton ratio of different geomorphic units is high, and the water systems in each watershed have great self-similarity.The two laws have significant spatial heterogeneity in water system geomorphy, with the Horton ratio exhibiting a random normal distribution in space and no obvious spatial autocorrelation.The reference values for branch ratios in seven geomorphic regions, including plateau area, high mountain area, plateau middle low mountain transition area, middle low mountain elderly area, middle low mountain middle-aged area, hilly area, and plain area, are 4.58,4.02,4.34,4.50,4.02,4.25, and 4.20, respectively, and the reference values for length ratios are 2.66,2.28,2.22,2.28,2.23,2.26, and 2.12, respectively. Keywords: DEM; river network extraction; Horton’s law; Hack’s law;geostatistics; clustering analysis; hydrological response of watershed;water system geomorphy 〖FL