Fecal coliform (FC) in river water is one of the threats to human health. To explore the pollution status of FC in rivers of Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous country with traditional agro-pastoral economy, 184 water samples from the rivers of Kyrgyzstan in low and high river flow period were analyzed. Spatial autocorrelation and classical statistical methods were used to analyze the spatiotemporal distribution and driving factors of FC. The results showed that the surface water quality of Kyrgyz rivers was good, and the concentration range of FC was 0–23 MPN/100 mL. Temporally, the maximum FC concentration was 4 MPN/100 mL in low river flow period, while in the period of high river flow, the highest value reached to 23 MPN/100 mL. Spatially, the concentration of FC in high altitude areas was low, while that in the lowland areas was relatively high, which indicated that animal husbandry in high altitude areas contributed little to FC in rivers, and urban domestic sewage and agricultural activities in lowlands were the main pollution sources of FC in rivers. There was no correlation between FC and hardness, electrical conductivity (EC), pH and total organic carbon (TOC) in river water of Kyrgyzstan, and the distribution of FC in high river flow period was mainly driven by population and human modification of terrestrial systems. The results can provide a basis for the prevention and control of surface water FC pollution and related diseases in Kyrgyzstan.

河水中的粪便大肠菌群 (FC) 是对人类健康的威胁之一。为探讨传统农牧经济多山的吉尔吉斯斯坦河流中FC的污染状况，对吉尔吉斯斯坦河流低、高流量时期的184份水样进行了分析。使用空间自相关和经典统计方法分析FC的时空分布和驱动因素。结果表明，吉尔吉斯斯坦河流地表水质良好，FC浓度范围为0～23 MPN/100 mL。从时间上看，FC最大浓度在小河水流量期为4 MPN/100 mL，而在大河水流量期最高可达23 MPN/100 mL。空间上，高海拔地区FC浓度较低，而低地地区FC浓度较高，说明高海拔地区的畜牧业对河流FC的贡献很小，城市生活污水和低地农业活动是河流FC的主要污染源。吉尔吉斯斯坦河水中FC与硬度、电导率（EC）、pH值和总有机碳（TOC）无相关性，高流量时期FC的分布主要受人口和人类对陆地系统改造驱动. 研究结果可为吉尔吉斯斯坦地表水FC污染及相关疾病的防治提供依据。吉尔吉斯斯坦河水中FC与硬度、电导率（EC）、pH值和总有机碳（TOC）无相关性，高流量时期FC的分布主要受人口和人类对陆地系统改造驱动. 研究结果可为吉尔吉斯斯坦地表水FC污染及相关疾病的防治提供依据。吉尔吉斯斯坦河水中FC与硬度、电导率（EC）、pH值和总有机碳（TOC）无相关性，高流量时期FC的分布主要受人口和人类对陆地系统改造驱动. 研究结果可为吉尔吉斯斯坦地表水FC污染及相关疾病的防治提供依据。