Spatial-temporal integrative thinking is an important component of geographical holistic thinking. This study conceptualizes spatial-temporal integrative thinking into three hierarchical levels: spatial-temporal objects, spatial-temporal relationships, and spatial-temporal coupling, and develops an assessment instrument to measure students’ performance across these levels. The results show that, among the students in the sample, the overall level of spatial-temporal integrative thinking was at Level 2, with spatial-temporal relational and coupling thinking being relatively weak. Based on these fi ndings, this study proposes the following training paths: enhancing students’ ability to identify spatial-temporal information through the construction of geographic representations; deepening their ability to analyze geographical flows through an “input– interaction–output” framework; and improving their spatial-temporal coupling ability through a “Time-Space-Flow-Process ”diagram. Preliminary evidence from teaching practice suggests that these approaches can help promote the development of students’ spatial-temporal integrative thinking toward higher-order levels.