Administrative division adjustments(hereinafter referred to as ADA) proceed throughout China’s rapid urbanization, especially during the process of metropolitanization. It has become an integral part of the transformation of China’s urban and regional governance. Based on an analysis of ADA cases at the metropolitan level since 1997, this paper suggests that the stages and characteristics of ADA in China are closely related to the metropolitanization process. The internal dynamics and external constraints jointly created two stages of ADA at the metropolitan level in China, namely, a first stage from 1997 to 2007 and a second stage from 2008 to now. In the first stage, ADA primarily aimed at turning counties into districts, to meet the metropolis’ demands for expansion. In the second stage, local governments laid equal stress on the two approaches of ADA, i.e., turning counties into districts and district restructuring. Such a change corresponded to the diversification of development demands of the metropolitan area. The evolution of ADA from the first stage to the second not only reflects the changing characteristics of metropolitanization at different times, but also demonstrates the viability of ADA as a means to improve the governance structure of the metropolitan area. ADA at the metropolitan level in China since 1997 basically accommodates the development of space and governance in the metropolitan area, which promotes the rapid development of a large metropolitan area. Administrative division adjustments (hereinafter referred to as ADA) proceed throughout China’s rapid urbanization, especially during the process of metropolitanization. It has become an integral part of the transformation of China’s urban and regional governance. Based on an analysis of ADA cases at the metropolitan level since 1997, this paper suggests that the stages and characteristics of ADA in China are closely related to the metropolitanization process. The internal dynamics and external constraints jointly created two stages of ADA at the metropolitan level in China, namely, a first stage from 1997 to 2007 and a second stage from 2008 to now. In the first stage, ADA approved an turning counties into districts, to meet the metropolis’ demands for expansion. In the second stage, local governments laid equal stress on the two approaches of ADA, ie, turning counties into districts and district restructuring. Such a change corresponded to the diversification of development d emands of the metropolitan area. The evolution of ADA from the first stage to the second not only reflects the changing characteristics of metropolitanization at different times, but also demonstrates the viability of ADA as a means to improve the governance structure of the metropolitan area. at the metropolitan level in China since 1997 basically accommodates the development of space and governance in the metropolitan area, which promotes the rapid development of a large metropolitan area.