Combining the delivery of query messages with the selection of data aggregation points, a novel distributed data collection scheme for wireless sensor network - TBDCS (A Tree Based Data Collection Scheme) is proposed in this paper. Using a flooding avoidance method, it sets up a tree with minimum intermediate nodes, which are also data aggregators when sensor nodes send data back. Moreover, each intermediate node knows all its next-hop children in the tree, so it can choose a proper time locally to aggregate the received data. Theoretical analysis proves that TBDCS changes neither the network connectivity nor the shortest path?s length between the sink and sensor nodes. Simulations show TBDCS significantly reduces the traffic and achieves longer system lifetime.