By taking the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains as the research object,water footprint in the area is calculated by using an improved method.Then the relationship between desertification and water footprint is established based on the analyses of the spatiotemporal variation of water footprint and the desertification patterns.Moreover,the processes and mechanisms of oasis and desertification on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains are analyzed from the water footprint perspective.Results showed that(1) from 1960 to 2007,water footprint in the area tended to increase obviously and meanwhile,water footprint structure changed significantly;(2) the productive water footprint had obvious spatial variation for the cities and counties in the area;(3) there was a significantly negative correlation between the deserted area and water footprint on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains;(4) the adjustments of regional production structure(especially agriculture) and the improvement of the regional people′s consumption patterns are favorable to reduce the pressures on water resources in arid areas,which have an important strategic implication for the early warning and prevention of desertification in arid areas.