[Objective] The change in the water content of meadow soils at different depths with different plow and straw returning methods was studied to provide a theoretical basis for formulating scientific/reasonable tillage and fertilizer technology according to local conditions during future production.[Methods] Based on field experiments, the soil water content, field water holding capacity, and bulk density of crop growth different stages and different soil depths were studied using three tillage and straw returning methods, which were no-tillage, shallow plow, and deep plow, each partnered with no straw and straw returning.[Results] The inter-annual variation in the soil water content had relationships with the annual precipitation and precipitation variability. In two consecutive years of no-tillage, the soil water curves were basically the same, the field water holding capacity in the 0-20 cm layer decreased by 13.62%, while the shallow and deep plow increased the field water holding capacity by 11.32% and 27.98%, respectively. The influence of the soil water content at the depth of 20-30 cm was higher than other soil layers, and along with the crop growth and increase of ground cover, the soil water in the three tillage systems decreased under the 40 cm soil layer. With straw shallow and deep returning, the water holding capacity of the 0-20 cm arable layer saw an average increase of 16.24% and 5.08%, respectively, and the soil bulk density decreased by 0.12 g/cm³ and 0.09 g/cm³, respectively.[Conclusion] Within the same plow systems, the soil water content with straw returning was higher than that without, and the less precipitation that was present the more obvious this difference was. Compared with no-tillage and straw mulching, the soil water increased with plow and straw returning, which increased the drought resistance of the crops and yields.