[Objective] The hydrological effects of the litter layer under the main artificial forests in Qingshuihe County, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were studied in order to provide a reference for the construction of water conservation forests and for the prevention and control of soil erosion in the loess hilly area in the future. [Methods] The study location consisted of five main artificial forests at the public welfare forest area of Qingshuihe County, Inner Mongolia. The experimental methods were mainly field survey sampling and the indoor immersion method, with SPSS 22.0 software used to correlate the obtained data, test the data for significant differences due to forest type, and conduct linear regression analysis. [Results] ① The total volume of the litter layer of the five forest types ranged from 8.49 t/ha to 25.52 t/ha, and the overall trend was basically consistent with the thickness performance. The specific performance followed the order of coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest>Pinus tabuliformis forest>Larix gmelinii forest>Armeniaca sibirica forest>arbor-shrub mixed forest; ② The total maximum water holding capacity of the five forest types ranged from 10.10 t/ha to 38.82 t/ha, and the specific performance followed the order of coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest>A. sibirica forest>P. tabuliformis forest>L. gmelinii forest>arbor-shrub mixed forest; ③ The total effective storage capacity of the five forest types varied from 8.58 t/ha to 36.97 t/ha. The overall trend was consistent with the maximum storage capacity. The specific performance followed the order of mixed coniferous and broadleaf trees forest>A. sibirica forest>P. tabuliformis forest>L. gmelinii forest>arbor and shrub mixed forest; ④ The dynamic water holding process of the five forest types of litter layer could be roughly divided into three stages: the rapid water absorption stage (0.5—2 h); the slow water absorption stage (2—6 h); and the stable (saturated) water absorption stage (6—24 h). [Conclusion] The water-holding capacity of the litter layer of broad-leaved tree species is stronger than that of coniferous forest species. Among the five forest types, the litter layer water conservation capacity is the best in the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest.