In arid and semi-arid ecologically fragile areas, groundwater is one of key factors restricting the composition, quantity and growth of plant species. In recent years, due to the increase in climate change and land use intensity, ecological processes characterized by extreme climate change, surface water shrinkage and groundwater level decline have generally appeared in northern China, posing a serious threat to the security and sustainable development of regional ecosystems. However, there are still insufficiently systematic studies on the restoration and stability maintenance of degraded vegetation driven by change in groundwater depth in arid and semi-arid regions. This article systematically summarized the effects of groundwater depth change on plants and soil, and the interaction between them, compared and analyzed the previous research results, summarized the driving effect and influencing factors of the groundwater depth change, as well as research on the prediction model of the impact of groundwater depth changes on plant soil systems in semi-arid regions, in order to provide theoretical guidance for formulating ecological protection strategies in response to change of groundwater depth in the future. Finally, a prospect of the research direction is made.