Using the idea of big data analysis, this paper makes a quantitative analysis of the development of characteristic towns in China based on two dimensions of space and type, static and dynamic, and puts forward policy suggestions. The results showed that: distribution density of characteristic towns in China is dense and stratified, which decreases from east to west. There are significant differences in distribution density between different types of towns. The development of small towns follows the evolution trajectory of “enlightenment-initial development-high speed development-normative construction” and forms a ladder transfer pattern of “Zhejiang-southeast coast-national-southeast coast”. Town construction is highly resource embeddedness, and is undergoing a transition from resource-driven to innovation-driven.