Jiziwan section is a key node in the Yellow River Watershed, where is a key area for realizing the rise of the central and western regions, and it is also a strategic functional region for the ecological environment protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Watershed. However, water shortage in this region has become the biggest bottleneck restricting the economic and social development. From the physical water on the production side and the virtual water on the consumption side, we used the input-output model to analyze the water consumption, structural changes, inflow and outflow characteristics of 18 cities in the "Jiziwan" area, in addition, we put forward the key points of water saving and the suggestions for industrial water supply adjustment in this region. (1) The virtual water consumption in the "Jiziwan" area increased from 64.9 billion m³ in 2007 to 77.8 billion m³ in 2017 with increase of 20%, but the entity water consumption only changed -0.04%, and the growth types of virtual water in different cities were quite different. (2) The ratio of entity/virtual water in 18 cities dropped from 41.7% in 2007 to 34.8% in 2017, and water resource utilization efficiency has gradually improved; the industry with the highest water consumption was agriculture, and the higher virtual water industry were manufacture and agriculture. The consumption of entity water and virtual water in the service industry has increased sharply in this period. (3) The inflow of virtual water in 18 cities has increased significantly, but the virtual water outflowing was still mainly in this area. The outflow of virtual water from the manufacturing industry in 18 cities was above 18.9 billion m³, and the inflow was less than 10.9 billion m³. It showed that the manufacturing industry had higher comparative advantages in "Jiziwan" area. (4) Bayannur, Zhongwei, Wuzhong, Shizuishan and Baiyin in "Jiziwan" region were the key cities for water-saving. In these cities, the agriculture water consumption was larger and the output is lower than other industries, and the agriculture was the focus of water-saving. The manufacturing industries of Ordos, Baotou, Shizuishan and Wuhai had the comparative advantages to others. The agricultural water use coefficient of Bayannur was much higher than the average value of 18 cities, and agricultural water use needs to be strictly controlled. It is necessary for Ordos, Baotou, Shizuishan, Wuhai and Bayannur to tilt the water supply to the local advantageous industries, manufacturing and service industries, and improve their comparative advantages.