[Objective] The effects of different mulching modes on soil water evaporation were studied during the vegetation restoration of a coal mine wasteland in an arid desert area in order to provide a scientific basis for the optimization of the ecological restoration model of abandoned land in arid desert areas, and for the improvement of vegetation restoration technology.[Methods] The influence of different mulching modes on the evaporation of soil moisture and the soil moisture content were investigated on a dump slope of a gangue field in an arid desert region. Bare land was used as a control. The tested mulching modes included straw curtain mulching, eco-mat mulching, and liquid film mulching.[Results] The moisture content of surface soil increased with a decrease in the slope position of the dump slope. The daily evaporation capacity of the soil was relatively high during the early evaporation period, but decreased gradually over time. The average daily evaporation capacity of the soil was the lowest for the straw curtain mulching mode, which differed significantly (p<0.05) from that of bare land. The cumulative evaporation capacity of the soil increased gradually at different slope positions of the dump slope under the different mulching modes. The cumulative evaporation capacity of the soil in the bare land substantially increased. The cumulative evaporation capacity of soil under the straw curtain mulching, liquid film mulching, and eco-mat mulching modes decreased by 38.4%, 24.2%, and 20.6%, respectively, compared with that of the bare land. There was a linear relationship between the cumulative evaporation capacity of the soil and time under the different mulching modes.[Conclusion] The moisture content under the straw curtain mulching mode was higher than that under the liquid film and eco-mat mulching modes. Straw curtain mulching could provide the moat reasonable mulching model for the dump slope of the gangue field.