The rapid urbanization and uncontrolled growth of cities in recent decades, especially in developing countries, have led to horizontal and scattered expansion of cities and adverse environmental, economic, and social consequences. The infill development approach, as one of the fundamental strategies to combat urban sprawl and achieve sustainable urban development, emphasizes the use of intra-urban capacities such as barren lands, worn-out textures, and vacant lands. This study aims to investigate the physical development pattern of Ahvaz city and identify areas prone to infill development. The research employs a descriptive-analytical method using Holdren model, Shannon entropy, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results of the Holdren model indicate that during the period 1986-2006, about 21.3% of the city's physical growth was due to sprawl, but this share increased to 57.9% during 2006-2016, indicating a significant intensification of the sprawl pattern in the last decade. The Shannon entropy value (G) was calculated as 1.146, which is not significantly far from the maximum value (2.079), indicating a very scattered distribution of built-up lands across the eight districts. Based on the AHP results, districts 2, 5, and 8 with the highest scores are prioritized for infill development, followed by districts 3 and 6 in the second priority, districts 4 and 7 in the third priority, and district 1 with the lowest potential in the fourth priority. Given the large area of barren lands (over 5,768 hectares) and worn-out textures (about 1,417 hectares) in the city, the application of the infill development approach can prevent uncontrolled horizontal expansion while organizing inefficient textures and improving the quality of life for citizens.