Large-scale re-vegetation of the Loess Plateau has been effective in decreasing serious soil erosion and improving the local environment. The human-introduced vegetation has become the main vegetation type in this region. However, large-scale human-introduced vegetation excessively consumes soil water. Soil desiccation is now observed across the entire Loess Plateau, and has become an important limitation for ecological restoration in this critical region, where it threatens the health and stability of regional ecosystems. In this paper, we summarize the role of human-introduced vegetation on soil desiccation in the Loess Plateau; present our analysis of the spatial and temporal variability of soil desiccation and the effect of associated factors on scales from the hillslope to regional level; discuss the coupling relationships between plant community features, soil properties, topographical features, and soil desiccation; and identify the problems and challenges of sustainable utilization of soil water under the influence of large-scale vegetation restoration in the Loess Plateau. We suggest that future studies should focus on the role of vegetation dynamics in hydrological processes. We also emphasize that subsequent studies should seek to clarify the coupling relationships between multi-scale vegetation patterns and spatial and temporal variations in soil desiccation, as well as conducting simulation studies on the spatial and temporal variability of soil desiccation at different scales. Methods of decreasing soil desiccation based on vegetation pattern optimization at different scales can provide reasonable and effective approaches to sustaining vegetation restoration and enhancing soil security in the Loess Plateau.