[Objective] To recognize the water environmental carrying capacity in mining areas in Loess Plateau in order to use the limited water resources scientifically and efficiently.[Methods] Taking Gujiao City of Shanxi Province, a typical mining area in Loess Plateau as a case study, based on its hydrological, ecological, social and economic conditions, we selected nine evaluation indexes including utilization rate of water resources, per capita available volume of water resources, per capita water supply quantity, ecological water requirement quantity, water demand quota of lives, modulus of water requirement and supply, irrigation rate of cultivated land and water requirement quantity of industrial output per ten thousand yuan. We then constructed a quantitative model to evaluate and predict the water environmental carrying capacity in 2000, 2010, 2020 and 2030, respectively.[Results] According to the final integrated evaluation values in each year, the carrying capacity in the area was in moderate level, and weak and unsafe due to the scarcity of water resources water pollution and incomplete water-providing engineering constructions.[Conclusion] Some countermeasures were proposed for the development and utilization of water resources, including opening up the source and regulating the flow, the consolidation of foundation work, the consideration of ecological aims and so on, to improve water environmental carrying capacity in study area and other similar regions of Loess Plateau.