Urban land-use structure is the result of the joint effects of physical geographic environment, economic development level and institutional environment. Cities’ differences in resources endowment, administrative level and scale all exert great influences on their production–ecological–living (PEL) space structure. According to the results of land-use analysis of 661 cities above the county level between 2000 and 2017, the Chinese cities’ PEL spaces suffer an unbalanced structure, mismatches among regions and unreasonable classification of scales. The existing spatial planning system, space-use regulation and urban growth control deviate to some degree from the expected goal, i.e. coordinated development, of PEL spaces. In the future, efforts should be made to accelerate the establishment of a spatial planning system, strengthen the space-use regulation and improve planning regulations and polices of national land, so as to enhance the governance of national land space and facilitate the coordinated development of the PEL spaces in Chinese cities.