A field experiment was carried out in the oasis at the edge of the mid-reaches of the Heihe River to determine effects of water-saving irrigation on cotton yield and irrigation water productivity (IWP) in different soil conditions. The objective of the work is to provide some scientific basis for rationalizing the utilization of agricultural soil and formulating soil-specific irrigation strategies in the region. The experiment was designed to have five different types of soils, (sand soils, S1 and S2, loamy sand soil, S3, and sandy loam soil, S4 and S5) forming gradients in soil fertility and mechanical composition and three irrigation levels (conventional full irrigation (I1), 10.5% and 21.0% less water-saving irrigations (I2, I3)). The results of the experiment show that compared with Treatment I1, Treatments I2 and I3 were a bit lower in biomass of shoots and leaf area of a single plant at any growth stages and in biomass of stem at the harvesting stage, but 11.6% and 11.2% higher in yield of seed cotton, respectively. The average cotton IWP was 0.51 kg m^-3 and 0.57 kg m^-3 in Treatments I2 and I3, respectively, and increased by 24.4% and 39.0% relative to the IWP（0.41 kg m^-3）in Treatment I1. Besides, treatments different in soil texture varied sharply in shoot biomass, leaf area, yield of seed cotton and yield components, as well as cotton IWP. With increasing soil organic matter (SOM) content and clay+silt content, yield of seed cotton and IWP increased, but decreased in Treatment S5 which was the highest in organic matter and silt caly contents, displaying a polynomial relationship. Significant interactions between soil texture and irrigation rate were observed in their effects on pre-frost lint yield, biomass and seed cotton yield. In Treatment S5, Treatment I1 brought about over-flourishing vegetative growth of the crop and delayed the boll-opening stage, thus leading to reduction of the pre-frost flower ratio, seed cotton yield and IWP, while Treatments I1 and I2. significantly increased crop IWP. In oases at the edge of deserts deficient in water resources, cultivation of cotton with low water requirement in newly reclaimed land of sandy soil and adoption of water-saving irrigation management should be an optimal option to realize regional water conservation and reasonable land use.