The National Forest Inventory is a major infrastructure project of the natural resources survey. The satellite based differential positioning has been applied to the National Forest Inventory since 2020.This paper introduced the basic principle of satellite based differential positioning system,compared the previous positioning and resetting methods of continuous inventorying permanent sample plots.It also analyzed and summarized the advantages of satellite based differential positioning in the forest resources inventory of Hubei Province in 2020 that:1) The satellite based differential positioning had high precision and fast speed. The positioning error was generally less than 2 meters,and the fixed-solution couldbe acquired in 1min. 2) It had wide coverage area without distance and regional restriction. 3) It had strong anti-interference ability. The range of positioning error was generally maintained at 1.00~1.50m under the interference of other factors,such as canopy density,slope,and slope position. The study results provided a basis for the application more widely and deeply of the satellite based differential positioning in the National Forest Inventory.