Abstract: The North China Plain (NCP) is one of the areas of intensive cereal production in China, producing large winter wheat and summer maize. A critical challenge facing the agro-production sector of the NCP, however, includes over-application of chemical fertilizers, excessive soil nutrient accumulation and declining nutrient use efficiency. This study investigated relationship between nitrogen (N) flux and crop nutrient uptake/loss processes under conventional fertilization at 400 kg(N)·hm^-2·a^-1 in the winter wheat/summer maize crop rotation system in the piedmont region of NCP. The management practices of the fields were adjusted on the basis of the characteristics of N output fluxes. The results showed that in the region, a total N input of 561~580 kg·hm^-2 and output of 468~494 kg·hm^-2 resulted in a N surplus of 86~93 kg·hm^-2 per year. Organic N load in the study area was 24~36 kg·hm^-2. N loss via ammonia volatilization and NO₃^--N leaching was 60 kg·hm^-2 and 47~84 kg·hm^-2 per year, respectively, collectively accounting for 30% of applied N fertilizer in the region. N loss via nitrification-denitrification was only 5.0~8.7 kg·hm^-2 per year, accounting for 1%~2% of applied N fertilizer. Ammonia volatilization and NO₃^--N leaching were the main modes of N loss, and therefore the main drivers of lower N fertilizer utilization rate in the study area. Appropriate management practices such as adjustments of the rates and time of N fertilization and irrigation were important for decreasing ammonia volatilization, NO₃^--N accumulation in deep soil profile and therefore the mitigation of NO₃^--N loss in the region. Amendments with wheat/corn straw changed the rates of N transformation and migration in the soil, which also resulted in low NH₃ loss and NO₃^--N leaching. Analysis of precision fertilization via NO₃^--N or hyper-spectra information feature also showed that the main indices of N loss were the amount of soil available nutrient and crop nutrient content. This laid the basis for efficient fertilizer application in the study area. Control-release fertilizer and precision fertilization techniques improved crop nutrient uptake, which in turn increased N use efficiency. An integrated fertilizer utilization technique for sustainable environmental and agricultural development in the piedmont region of NCP was possible.