Abstract: Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica L.) is the most important commodity of plateau characteristic agriculture and for targeted poverty alleviation in Yunnan. Research on the ecological suitability of planting is conducive for optimizing the layout and expanding the scale. There are no reports on the suitability of C. arabica using GIS in China. Using ArcGIS, in this study, we established a refined spatial distribution model of climate, soil, and terrain factors and screened out three levels and 11 ecological suitability evaluation indexes using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to optimize the layout and expand the scale for planting C. arabica. The results showed the following:1) Climate is a key factor affecting ecological suitability, followed by terrain factor; soil factor was the least influential factor. 2) The minimum temperature of the coldest month, rainfall during February-March, and elevation had a significant effect on ecological suitability, which should be focused on while planning planting. 3) The most suitable and suitable areas for C. arabica cultivation were mainly distributed southwest and southeast of Yunnan, accounting for 18.8% and 15.0% of the land area in Yunnan; sub-suitable areas accounted for 21.0% of the land area. 4) Pu'er City comprised a high proportion of suitable areas, and large-scale planting can be carried out in central and southern regions of Pu'er City. 5) The key counties in Lincang, Dehong, and Baoshan should make rational use of ecological advantages of the Hengduan Mountains to strengthen appropriate regional planning and layout of coffee cultivation. 6) Xishuangbanna, Wenshan, and Honghe had a high proportion of highly suitable areas, and therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the planning layout and planting scale, and make full use of the ecological advantages and potential. 7) Dali and Nujiang, as well as other valley hotspots in Yunnan, are also suitable for C. arabica cultivation, but attention should be paid to prevent the effects of disasters such as low temperature and drought. There is still a large proportion of developmental potential areas for C. arabica cultivation, which offers a foundation for improving yield and quality and enhancing the international competitiveness of C. arabica in Yunnan. By combining field investigation findings, our results indicate that ecological suitability and zoning analyses are accurate, which can be extended to the development of characteristic agriculture industry in the plateau, and provide a scientific basis for the optimization of site selection planning and scientific ecological layout.