Abstract: To improve maize yield and reduce residual film pollution in the semiarid region of the Loess Plateau, this study conducted a field experiment on maize in the arid agricultural areas of central Gansu from 2023 to 2024. The effects of different were studied. A two-factor experiment were set up to investigate the thicknesses of plastic film (H1: 0.01 mm, H2: 0.015 mm, and H3: 0.02 mm) and its reuse (T1: new film and T2: plastic film reuse) on maize yield, WUE, and residual film recovery rate in arid areas. The research results showed that during the maize sowing-jointing stage, T2 treatment reduced the soil temperature of the top 0-25cm by 2.21 ℃ compared to T1 treatment, while the soil temperature during the maize jointing maturity stage was not affected using plastic film. The water storage capacity of T2 treatment before sowing and after harvest decreased by 7.3% and 6.7% respectively under H1 thickness compared to T1 treatment, while the difference was not significant under H2 and H3 treatments. The difference in dry matter accumulation and yield between H2 and H3 treatments was not significant under T1 and T2 treatments. Compared to T1H1 treatment, T2H1 treatment reduced yield by 19.4%. Maize WUE is not affected by using plastic film way, but the WUE of H2 and H3 treatments is significantly higher than that of H1 treatment. Compared with H1, the economic return of maize treated with H2 and H3 did not increase significantly under T1, and the production to investment ratio showed a decreasing trend; The net income and production investment of maize treated with T2H2 and T2H3 significantly increased compared to T2H1. The T2 treatment significantly reduced the plastic film recycling rate compared to the T1 treatment, but the H3 treatment significantly improved the recovery rate of the plastic film compared to the H1 treatment, especially the H3 treatment showed a greater increase in recovery rate under the reuse of the plastic film. These results indicate that the increase in yield and income of thickened plastic film compared to traditional thickness plastic film is not significant under the new film utilization method. However, under the reuse of plastic film, thickened plastic film can improve yield, WUE, net income, and residual film recovery rate compared to traditional plastic film. However, due to significantly lower recycling rates, the reuse of plastic film implies a potential risk of increasing residual film pollution. Therefore, considering yield, WUE, economic benefits, and plastic film recycling rate, the 0.015mm thick plastic film is suitable for promotion in the arid agricultural areas of central Gansu..