Abstract: Based on the data of the third survey of cultural relics and historical buildings in Nan'an, the residential buildings database in Nan'an was built to compare and analysis the residential buildings in Nan'an from micro (building type) to macro (spatial distribution) with the help of ArcGIS platform. According to the research, the formation and distribution of residential buildings in Nan'an are mainly influenced by natural-geographical environment, economic-land and water transportation, and culture-culture of overseas Chinese. Based on this, strategies were put forward by dividing the residential system of overseas Chinese of Nan'an into coastal protection zone, riverside protection zone, hill protection zone and mountain protection zone protection, so as to promote the protection of residential buildings by regional protection.