Abstract: With the PML-V2 model, the evapotranspiration was separated and the trends of intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) and canopy water use efficiency (tWUE) was calculated to investigate the differences between them. The results show that the change in these two types of water use efficiency is inconsistent at the site scale. The trend of iWUE is greater than that of iWUE in deciduous broadleaf forests (DBF), whereas the contrary occurs in evergreen coniferous forests (ENF). The discrepancy in canopy conductance and transpiration trends can help explain the difference in iWUE and tWUE trends in DBF. Regression analysis revealed that the trends of air temperature and carbon dioxide concentration in forests (DBF and ENF) have a stronge influence on the trend of tWUE. The results of this paper demonstratethe differences between the trends of iWUE and tWUE. Therefore, study results about iWUE cannot fully indicate the trends of the actual water use efficiency of vegetation, and they cannot thoroughly reflect the interactions between vegetation and the atmosphere. This study reveals the trend difference between iWUE and tWUE under the background of global climate change, which is useful for understanding the interactions between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere and provides a useful reference for predicting future climate change and the evolution of terrestrial vegetation reasonably and effectively.