The climatological method of calculating gross solar radiation is established by using the observation data of solar radiation and sunshine duration from 1961 to 2010 in Anhui Province. The accuracy and applicability of the method are demonstrated according to the influence of different parameters and spatialtemporal scales. Results indicate that the climatological model based on the astronomical radiation and combining data can achieve a better balance between the accuracy and applicability in the simulation of monthly gross solar radiation in Anhui Province. Further, the spatialtemporal variation characteristics of the simulated gross solar radiation are addressed by the trend analysis, mutation testing, and wavelet analysis. Results show that solar radiation was greater in the north of Anhui Province and less in the south. The seasonal distribution of solar radiation exhibited the singlepeak type characteristic, though there was a trough in the Meiyu period.In the recent 50 years, the solar radiation declined significantly by 0.31 MJ〖DK〗·m-2〖DK〗·d-1 per decade in Anhui Province, and the declined trend of solar radiation slowed down since the 1990s. Results of MK testing show that there was a mutation phenomenon in the variation of solar radiation in the early 1980s. Significant periodic oscillations of solar radiation with quasi10 and 4-6 year scales are found in the recent 50 years in Anhui Province. Since the 1980s, the decade oscillation showed weaker, and the climate state of less solar radiation dominated in recent decades.