Abstract: Mining city rises due to the development of mineral resources, so that the development of mining city is determined to a large extent by the reserves of mineral resources and price constraints and other factors. Because most of China's mining cities formed during planned economy period, basic functions of mining city are imperfect compared with the general city. In this paper, the concept of characteristics of the mining city and urban basic functions are illustrated. Problems appearing in the development of mining city and reasons for the weakening of urban functions are analyzed. Ways and countermeasures on improving and optimizing urban function and promoting sustainable development of mining city are discussed.