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Future changes in reference evapotranspiration (ET0) are of increasing importance in assessing the potential impacts on hydrology and water resources systems of more pronounced climate change. This study assesses the applicability of the Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) in projecting ET0, and investigates the seasonal and spatial patterns of future ET0 based on general circulation models (GCMs) across the Haihe River Basin. The results indicate that SDSM can downscale ET0 well in term of different basin-averaged measures for the HadCM3 and CGCM3 GCMs. HadCM3 has a much superior capability in capturing inter-annual variability compared to CGCM3 and thus is chosen as the sole model to assess the changes in future ET0. There are three homogeneous sub-regions of the Haihe River Basin: Northwest, Northeast and Southeast. Change points are detected at around 2050 and 2080 under the A2 and B2 scenarios, respectively. The Northwest is revealed to have a slight to strong increase in ET0, while the Northeast and the Southeast tend to experience a pattern change from decrease to increase in ET0. EDITOR M.C. Acreman ASSOCIATE EDITOR J. Thompson [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]