Abstract: How to increase maize yield and reduce residual film pollution remains an important issue urgently needing to be addressed in maize production in the semi-arid region of the Loess Plateau. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different plastic film thicknesses and their two-year reuse under no-till on maize yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and film recovery rate in central Gansu Province from 2023 to 2024. The experimental design included two factors: plastic film utilization methods (T1: new film; T2: two-year reuse of plastic film with no-till) and plastic film thickness (H1: 0.01 mm; H2: 0.015 mm; H3: 0.02 mm), with a total of 6 treatments (T1H1、T1H2、T1H3、T2H1、T2H2、T2H3). The results showed that compared with the two-year reuse of plastic film with no-till, new plastic film under H1, H2, and H3 significantly increased the average soil temperature in the 0-25 cm layer during the seedling to jointing stage by 6.71%、5.60%, and 5.77%, respectively. From jointing to maturity stages, no significant differences in average soil temperature in the 0-25 cm layer were observed between new film and two-year reuse of plastic film with no-till. However, under H2 and H3 thicknesses, two-year reuse of plastic film with no-till did not significantly reduce soil water storage during these periods. Both new film and two-year reuse of plastic film with no-till treatments showed no significant differences in harvest biomass or yield between H2 and H3. Compared with the new film treatment, the two-year use of no-tillage film reduced the biomass and yield at maturity by 27.18% and 24.1%, respectively under H1 thickness, respectively. Thicker films (H2 and H3) significantly increased WUE by 27.07% and 30.08% compared to H1. Under new film, the net income or ratio of output to input were not significant differences among H1, H2, and H3. Under two-year reuse of plastic film with no-till, compared to H1, H2 and H3 increased net income by 45.74% and 46.10%, respectively, and elevated the ratio of output to input by 11.10% and 9.63%, respectively. Although two-year reuse of plastic film with no-till significantly reduced the film recovery rate compared to new film, thicker films under two-year reuse with no-till significantly improved the recovery rate compared to H1. These results indicate that under new film, thicker films did not significantly increase yield or net income; however, thicker films under two-year reuse with no-till significantly enhanced both yield and net income. Therefore, considering yield, WUE, film recovery, and economic benefits, the 0.015mm plastic film combined with two-year reuse of plastic film under no-till is a suitable plastic film measure for arid agricultural areas on the Loess Plateau.