In order to evaluate the actual water resources consumption in agricultural production industry comprehensively, the crop water footprint (total water footprint of all kinds of crops, CWP) in 31 provinces of China during 1996—2015 was calculated. The influencing factors for time-dependent and spatial distribution of crop production water footprint (CPWF, CWP per unit cultivated land) were revealed by using the path analysis method. The results showed that the national average annual CWP was estimated to be approximately 1421.07Gm3, and blue, green and gray water footprint accounted for 10.05%, 66.79% and 23.16%, respectively. The water footprint of grain and fruit crops accounted for more than 85% of the total, which decided the change trend of CWP in China. With a trend of decline after the slow rise, national CPWF in the studied period was 1156.90mm. The spatial difference of CPWF was large, and it was decreased from southeast to northwest of China. Population density, per capita net income and fertilizer application were the main driving factors of time variation of CPWF, and rainfall, per capita GDP and per capita net income had important influence on the spatial distribution of CPWF. Economic development was the driving force to reduce the crop water footprint, which can promote the reduction of fertilizer application, the efficiency of irrigation water use and the ability to control green water resources. The following specific measures, including reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and water resource consumption caused by water environment pollution, improving irrigation water use efficiency to save agricultural water resources, controlling high consumption in areas with serious exploitation of groundwater, expounding the proportion of effective irrigation area and improving the mechanization of the productive forces can be adopted to reduce the CWF.