Abstract: The arid land in China is mainly in the North and Northwest. The Northern China is the main region for food produce, farmland there is 31.19% of the total farmland in China, and population is 26.01% of the total in China, but water resources there is only 6.14% of the total in China. Groundwater is over pumped for 6.53 billion cubic meters every year in the area of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province, water supply could not be meet demand there. The distribution of water in the Northwestern China is uneven and some inland rivers and lakes are dried up, and desert has expanded since river water in the upper reaches is diverted for irrigation. Up to 2050, population will increase to 1.6 billion, and industry will develop fast, 50% of the supplied water will used by industry and resident, water for agriculture will decrease year by year. Water demand for agriculture in Yellow River Watershed will be increase of 5.6 billion cubic meters in the future of 50 years, and in Northwestern China will increase for 1.7 billion cubic meters. It will be impossible for Yellow River, it always drying up in the cold half year since 1984, to supply water to meet the demand.
To avoid water shortage on agriculture in the arid regions, it is necessary to divert water from the Yangtze River in the south of China, to use water efficiently, to adopt drip irrigation technology in agriculture, to recycle water in industry and resident, and to control water pollution. Otherwise water shortage in the arid regions will restrict the development of agriculture in China.

Key words: China, Water demand, Water shortage