Incorporating returned straw with tillage practices during the fallow period may becrucial for yield increase of dryland maize (Zea maysL.) by improving soil waterstorage. Field experiments were conducted over 3 yr (2016–2019) to investigate theeffects of four treatments (CK, no-till with crushed straw left on the ground; RT,rotary tillage with crushed straw mixed into the 0-to-20-cm soil layer; DP, deepploughing with crushed straw mixed into the 30-to-35-cm soil layer; SM, no-till withwhole straw mulched on the surface) on soil water storage, yield and its components,and water use efficiency (WUE) of dryland maize in northern China. Compared withCK, the yield of RT, DP, and SM treatments increased by 2.3 to 68.3, 22.8 to 126.1%and 9.3 to 119.8%, respectively, during the 3 yr. The most significant increase wasobtained in the drier year of 2019, though yields were lowest overall that year. The DPtreatment had greater water storage in the upper soil layer (0–100 cm) in all 3 yr, fol-lowed by SM and RT. The average increment of precipitation use efficiency and WUEunder RT, DP, and SM was 25.4, 58.6, and 48.6 and 20.7, 31.6, and 29.9%, respec-tively. The results indicated that numerically higher yield components and yields ofdryland maize were observed upon DP and SM. Thus, these two practices (DP andSM) could be suitable field management choices to promote water storage and pro-duction of dryland maize in the northern China.