Abstract Global climate change is causing notable shifts in the environmental suitability of the main regions involved in potato cultivation and has, thus, changed the production potential of potatoes. These shifts can be mapped at fine scales to better understand climate change within areas of potato cultivation and to find infrastructural- and breeding-based solutions. As a case study, we have identified and mapped the structural and spatial shifts that occurred in areas suitable for potato cultivation in Jilin Province, China. We identified a discontinuity in climate change trends between 1961 and 2018 based on data for Jilin Province, and analyzed the averages and linear trends for six important climatic parameters. We used the averages of these climatic parameters to establish climate models for the province and determined cultivation using a multi-criterion, decision-based model that integrates AHP-PCA and GIS. We mapped the environmentally suitable areas for potato cultivation at a 3-km resolution based on the geo-climate model for each time period and analyzed differences between them. We found that "Most suitable” areas for potato cultivation are mainly distributed in the central area of Jilin Province, “Suitable” areas were located in the northwestern plains, and “Sub-suitable” areas in the eastern mountainous areas. In contrast, “Not suitable” areas occur mainly in the high-altitude areas in the east. The areas of “Most suitable” and “Suitable” areas for potato cultivation in Jilin Province are increasing, with increasing rates of 0.37 × 1,000 km² decade− 1 (R2 = 0.58, P < 0.01) and 0.20 × 1,000 km² (R2 = 0.28, P < 0.01), respectively, while the extent of “Sub-suitable” areas is decreasing, with a decreasing rate of 0.58 × 1,000 km² decade− 1 (R2 = 0.53, P < 0.05). The area of “Not suitable” areas has undergone little change. “Most suitable” and “Suitable” areas for potato cultivation showed a trend towards northward expansion. Overall, our results suggest that global climate change has had a positive impact on potato cultivation in Jilin Province over the past 58 years.