Abstract: Objective Based on the modeling of error ellipses andεerror bands,we present a model for the Et fieldwhich includes REM field and the extremum field,where Et is the DEM terrain representation error.Then,a construction method of Et field is established.Taking the terrain of plain river network,lo-ess hill and Qinling mountains as test data,we analyze the basic characteristics of the Et field by acomparative analysis method.Experimental results show Experimental results show the conclusions asfollows:(1)the Et field could reflect the spatial distribution of DEM terrain representation error intu-itively and accurately and deserves to research.(2)Et is closely related to the landform complexity ofthe area presented by DEM and presents significant spatial structure distribution characteristics.Meanwhile,RMS of Et shows a feature of the curve with the resolution of DEM increasing.(3)Asthe unoptimistic accuracy of existing RMS estimation models of Et,the quantitative simulation of theregional topographic complexity should be completed scientifically and accurately at first to achieve thehigh-accuracy RMS estimation of Et.