【Objectives】A five-year field experiment was conducted between 2007 and 2011 in the Weibei tablelands of Shaanxi, China to determine effect of different patterns of dual-mulching of ridge and furrow on soil fertility (soil organic matter and available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium contents), enzyme activity (urease, phosphatase and sucrase) and crop productivity (maize yield and water use efficiency) in an attempt to provide some important theoretical and practical basis for perfecting micro-catchment crop cultivation in the sub-humid areas.【Methods】 In a tract of farmland under the ridge and furrow rainwater harvest system (RFRHS), ridges were covered with plastic film and furrows mulched with common plastic film, bio-degradable film, maize straw or liquid film, or left uncovered, and a tract of flat farmland under conventional cultivation without mulching, which is popular among local farmers, was used as control. 【Results】 After the spring maize was harvested in 2011, soil organic matter and available nutrients in all the treatments decreased in content with soil depth. Soil nutrients in the dual-mulching treatments obviously increased in content when compared with the initial background value in 2007, but decreased in the treatment that had ridges mulched and furrows uncovered and the control. The treatment that had ridges mulched with plastic film and furrows mulched with straw was significantly higher than the control in content of soil organic matter, alkalytic nitrogen, available phosphorus and readily available potassium in the 0~20 cm soil layer, and the treatment that had both ridges and furrows mulched with plastic film and the treatment that had ridges mulched with plastic film and furrows with bio-degradable film were somewhat higher than the control in content of soil organic matter alkalytic nitrogen, but significantly higher in content of available phosphorus and readily available potassium. All the dual-mulching treatments were slightly higher than the control in content of soil organic matter and available nutrients in the 20~60 cm soil layer, and in activity of urease, phosphatase and sucrase in the 0~20 cm soil layer, too. The treatment that had ridges mulched with plastic film and furrows with straw was the highest in activity of soil enzymes, and followed by the treatment that had both ridges and furrows mulched with the plastic film and the treatment that had ridges mulched with plastic film and furrows with bio-degradable film. Dual-mulching significantly increased maize yield water use efficiency in the region. The treatment that had ridges mulched with plastic film and furrows with bio-degradable film, the treatment that had both ridges and furrows mulched with plastic film and the treatment that had ridges mulched with plastic film and furrows with straw was 41.1%, 42.1% and 39.3%, respectively, higher than the control in maize yield and 38.0%, 39.6% and 37.0% in water use efficiency.【Conclusions】The dual-mulching technology has been demonstrated as an effective practice to improve soil fertility, promote soil enzyme activity and increase crop yield and water use efficiency in the Weibei tablelands. In terms of the effect, the treatment that has ridges mulched with plastic film and furrows with straw ranks first, and is followed by the treatment that has both ridges and furrows mulched with plastic film and the treatment that has ridges mulched with plastic film and furrows with bio-degradable film. Apparently, the technology is feasible and worth extrapolating for spring maize production in the rainfed agricultural zones of the Loess Plateau, China.