Aerosols are one of the important pollutants in the atmosphere, and understanding their spatial and temporal distribution and influencing factors is of great significance for the protection and management of the atmospheric environment. To reveal the spatio-temporal distribution pattern of aerosol optical depth (AOD) in summer in Liaoning Province, China and the role of its spatio-temporal differentiation driving factors, this paper studied the spatial distribution pattern of AOD in summer in Liaoning Province using global Moran's I index, spatial hotspot analysis method and standard deviation ellipse method, and analyzed the main influencing factors of summer AOD in Liaoning Province using an optimal parameters-based geographical detector. The results show that the high AOD values in summer in Liaoning Province are mainly in the central plain area of low altitude, while the low AOD values are mainly in the mountain and forest areas of high altitude on east and west sides. In addition, urbanization, industrialization and unbalanced economic development are the main reasons for the regional differences of AOD in Liaoning Province, and social and economic factors are gradually becoming the main influencing factors of spatial and temporal differentiation of aerosols.