Providing a spatial and temporal drought monitoring and precipitation patterns for dry periods is very essential for different applications specially for drought adaptation plans. Due to short period of measured data and inappropriate distribution of weather stations, the study of water resources / climate in some regions of the province is carried out with difficulty. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize other reliable climatic data resources. Accordingly, in this research data from 10 synoptic stations and monthly data of TRMM satellite was used to monitor drought in Khorasan Razavi province. Standardized precipitation index (SPI) of 1, 3, 6 and 12 months were calculated for 13 years period (1998-2010) and compared with those of satellite based data for the same period. The evaluation was measured using CSI (Critical Success Index) and R2 (Coefficient of Determination). The results showed that there was a very good consistency between earth borne and satellite borne SPIs for 6 and 12 months’ SPIs. Moreover, monthly data from TRMM portraits the 2000 and 2008 droughts in the province more accurately. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the TRMM satellite data has the capability of drought monitoring over the province.

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