The influence of different field mulching treatments on soil water content, soil temperature, crop growth, final yield and water use efficiency was studied during the summer maize growing season in the semi-humid region of Northwest China. The mulching treatments included the flat plot with straw mulching (SM), flat plot with plastic film mulching (PM), ridge-furrow planting with film mulching over ridge and wheat straw mulching over furrow (SPM), and flat plot without mulching (control treatment, CK). The results showed that water content of mulching treatments in soil layer of 0~260cm depth was significantly larger than that of CK during maize growing period （P<0.05). The average soil temperature in the soil layer of 0~30cm depth showed a decreasing trend of PM, SPM, CK and SM, and the average soil temperature of CK was larger than that of SPM when the soil layer was 0~15cm depth. The development of maize aboveground biomass can match well with the logistic curve. Moreover, the average yields of SM, PM and SPM in the two-year experiment were increased by 15.4%, 23.3% and 28.4% compared with that of CK, respectively （P<0.05). The water use efficiencies of SM, PM and SPM were increased by 10.2%, 31.2% and 28.0% compared with that of CK, respectively （P<0.05). By comparison, the SPM can collect rainwater more effectively than other treatments and had the largest aboveground biomass in theory. In the treatment of SPM, the rapid dry matter accumulation period was earlier, and the cumulative rate was the fastest with a longer accumulation period, which meant that the SPM can significantly improve the soil water-heat conditions, increase the accumulation amount of crop dry matter, promote crop growth and improve water use efficiency. Therefore, the SPM was the better choice for local farmers in the semi-humid region of Northwest China.