Soil nitrate-N residue after harvesting crops and nitrate-N loss during the following fallow season is serious concern for the agricultural environment in dryland. A 6-year-long, location-fixed field experiment was conducted to determine the effects of plastic film mulch (PM), straw mulch (SM), green manure (GM) and straw mulch plus green manure (SGM) on the nitrate-N residue, loss and accumulation in a winter wheat-summer fallow system. Compared with the bare fallow, average grain yield was increased by 6 % with PM, whereas decreased by 7, 5 and 5 % with SM, GM and SGM, respectively. Average total N uptake was decreased by 13 % with SM, but not affected by PM, GM and SGM. Average nitrate-N residue at wheat harvest was decreased by 35, 32 and 18 % with PM, SM and SGM, respectively, but not affected by GM. Average soil water recharge was increased by 12 % with PM, and not affected by SM, whereas decreased by 20 and 16 % with GM and SGM, respectively. For the PM, SM, GM and SGM, the average nitrate-N loss from top soil was decreased by 51, 53, 50 and 34 %, respectively, and the average nitrate-N accumulation in deep soil was decreased by 56, 45, 31 and 39 %. Above results revealed that increasing the yield decreased soil nitrate-N residue, and nitrate-N loss and accumulation was restricted by the decreased nitrate-N residue and soil water recharge. Overall, PM is a preferable measure for the decreased nitrate-N residue, loss and accumulation, at the same time increased the yield in dryland.