Hexi Oasis is the most important region for food crop production in Gansu province,where is not only exposed to serious wind erosion but also one of the main sources of dust storm in China.Spring wheat traditionally dominates in wheat production in this region,but the bare field from dry winter to spring usually accelerates serious wind erosion.Conservation tillage proves to be able to increase water use efficiency(WUE)and eliminate soil erosion.In this study,dry matter accumulating,yield and WUE of winter wheat under different tillage practices were investigated in order to establish proper systems of conservation tillage in the Hexi Oasis area for winter wheat production,and to save water and prevent wind erosion.Experiments on five tillage practices were carried out from 2004 to 2007,including conventional tillage(T),conventional tillage with stubble incorporated(TIS),no-tillage(NT),no-tillage with stubble retention(NTS),and no-tillage with stubble standing(NTSS).The effects of conservation tillage on dry matter dynamics,grain-filling characteristics,grain yield,yield components,and WUE of winter wheat were determined using wheat cultivar Fan-13.Compared with treatment T,the growth and development process and grain-filling duration of winter wheat were prolonged in NTS and NTSS treatments.Both treatments had higher values in dry matter,relative growth rate(RGR),grain-filling duration,average filling velocity in spike of main stem,and filling index than other treatments.Although the grain number per spike and 1000-grain weight of NTS and NTSS varied across years,they generally showed higher levels than those of the T and TIS treatments,especially the NTSS treatment.The highest WUE was observed in the NTS treatment.The average grain yields(2004-2007)of NTS and NTSS were increased by 18.6%and 23.8%compared to the T treatment,and the average WUE(2005-2007)of NTS and NTSS were enhanced by 26.8%and 16.1%,respectively.It is concluded that winter wheat cultivation with NTS or NTSS system could be applicable in Hexi Oasis area to obtain relative high yield and high WUE,and the field coverage with wheat seedlings during the winter could be propitious to controlling the frequency of dust storm in China.