【Objective】 The growth and soil water transport of Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) were studied under three different drip treatments (drip irrigation, flood irrigation and control), and the responses of growth, photosynthesis, transpiration and water transport to the irrigation methods were discussed to provide a reference for efficient cultivation of P. sylvestris var. mongolica in arid and semi-arid areas. 【Method】 With P. sylvestris var. mongolica of the Daqingshan National Nature Reserve in Inner Mongolia as the research object, the growth (ground diameter, tree height, crown width, head sprouting length and biomass) and photosynthetic characteristics [photosynthetic rate (P_n), transpiration rate (T_r), stomatal conductance (G_s), intercellular CO₂ concentration (C_i), and water use efficiency (E_WUE)] of P. sylvestris var. mongolica were compared under different irrigation methods based on One-way ANOVA; soil profile observation was used to compare the migration distance of soil water in horizontal and vertical directions under different irrigation methods and durations. 【Result】 (1) The ground diameter, tree height, crown width, head sprouting length and biomass parameters of P. sylvestris var. mongolica in the drip irrigation were 1.5 cm, 0.5 m, 10 cm, 5.9 cm and 11.5 kg higher, respectively, than those in the flood irrigation, and 3.4 cm, 0.9 m, 60.0 cm, 7.2 cm and 2.5 kg higher than those in the control, respectively. (2) The P_n, T_r, G_s and C_i values of samples under the drip irrigation were significantly higher than those under the flood irrigation and control (P < 0.05), and decreased in the following order: drip irrigation > flood irrigation > control. However, E_WUE decreased in the following order: control > drip irrigation > flood irrigation, indicating P. sylvestris var. mongolica had the ability to tolerate drought under low soil water conditions. (3) After 2, 4 and 6 h irrigation, the vertical migration distance of soil moisture front and the final vertical migration distance after stopping the irrigation were deeper in the drip irrigation than in the flood irrigation. Under the two irrigation methods, the maximum horizontal migration distance of soil moisture front for the three different irrigation times in each soil layer was observed to be in the range of 0-20 cm. However, the vertical migration distance after stopping the irrigation decreased in the following order: drip irrigation > flood irrigation. (4) A few empirical models were used to simulate the profile of soil wetting body and the results confirmed that the optimal models for the drip irrigation and the flood irrigation were Polynomial (Eq.1) $M_{\mathrm{R} 1}=L_{\mathrm{MR}}\left[a_{1}\left(R_{\mathrm{MH}}-1\right)+a_{2}\left(R_{\mathrm{MH}}^{2}-1\right)+a_{3}\left(R_{\mathrm{MH}}{ }^{3}-1\right)+a_{4}\left(R_{\mathrm{MH}}^{4}-1\right)\right]$ and Baldwin and Peterson (Eq.4) $M_{\mathrm{R} 4}=a_{1}+\left[\left(R_{\mathrm{MH}}-1\right) /\left(R_{\mathrm{MH}}+1\right)\right]+a_{2}\left(R_{\mathrm{MH}}-1\right)$, respectively. Among them, is the horizontal movement distance of soil water at any position in the vertical direction; L_MR is the maximum horizontal movement distance of soil water; R_MH is the vertical movement of soil water at any position in the vertical direction relative distance; a_i is the model parameter (i=1, 2, 3, 4).【Conclusion】 The drip irrigation was obviously better than the flood irrigation based on each evaluation index in the arid areas of the north China. After 2, 4 and 6 h irrigation, the final horizontal migration distance of soil water front above 60 cm soil layer in the drip irrigation was larger than that in the flood irrigation. The drip irrigation was beneficial to the root water absorption and the growth of P. sylvestris var. mongolica. The E_WUE affects the photosynthetic characteristics of P. sylvestris var. mongolica and reasonable irrigation can improve the growth mechanisms.