［Purposes］ It is difficult to express the real degree of topographic uplift, gully cutting or basin collapse by absolute elevation, and defining and quantifying the height and depth of topographic uplift and cutting are useful for the portrayal and study of various geological phenomena such as mountainous landforms. ［Methods］ Based on the digital elevation model data and Yunnan Province as the research area, a method is proposed to construct an index for the degree of topographic uplift and cut. The method uses the geographic raster map algebra as the part, divides the mountainous area by small watersheds and selects the average elevation of each watershed as the sample point to construct the average trend surface, and uses this trend surface as the starting point. ［Findings］ 1) Topographic uplift height and depth of cut can well express the uplift and cut changes of large landforms, better characterize mountain features, and reflect the differences of mountain structure between large regions. 2) The values of topographic uplift height and depth of cutting in Yunnan Province are mainly concentrated in the range of -500 to 500 m, and its spatial distribution characteristics are similar to that of the average elevation changing pattern with inverted “U” type distribution. 3)The uplift height and cutting depth of low altitude terrain in Yunnan Province are -157~599 m. In the middle elevation area, the eastern uplift height is mostly less than 252 m and the absolute value of the cutting depth is mostly less than 439 m, while the western topographic uplift height is 252~<579 m and the cutting depth is -439~<-157 m; The elevation of topographic uplift in high altitude area is 579～<1 807 m and the cutting depth is -1 332～<-439 m. The elevation of topographic uplift in extremely high-altitude area is 1 807 m. 4) The topographic uplift height and cutting depth of Yunnan Province are analyzed by latitude and longitude profiles. In the latitudinal direction, the overall trend is gradually decreasing from west to east. From north to south, the cutting of topographic uplift is decreasing. ［Conclusions］ The construction of the topographic uplift and cutting depth index compensates for the shortcomings of the existing geological indexes that cannot characterize the upward uplift of mountains and the downward cutting of valleys, which can better reflect the mountain tectonic conditions of large inclined surfaces, for example, large inter-regional areas, and provide data support for various geological studies.