Saline-alkali land is one major medium-low yield land in China, it is increasingly important to improve the saline-alkali land in compensating decreasing cultivated land and ensuring the security of crop productivity. In China, the reclamation of saline-alkali land has always been attached great importance, while the increasing fresh water scarcity in saline-alkali area has become the crucial constrain in saline-alkali land utilization. In the current situation of the freshwater shortage, how to optimally regulate the movements of soil water, fertilizer and salt is the key scientific problem in sustainable utilization of saline-alkali land. Focusing on above scientific problems, numerous studies of fertile plough layer construction have been conducted in recent years to decrease soil salinity and increase the soil quality including organic fertilization, field tillage, water-saving irrigation, field coverage and saline water utilization etc., the fertile plough layer with the function of “salt control, fertilizer maintaining the water conservation” can be constructed in saline-alkali land. Meanwhile the natural movements of water, salt and fertilizer are significantly alerted in Soil Plant Atmosphere Continuum, and the aim of collaborative improvements of quality and capacity for saline alkali land can be realized. The above contents have increasingly become an important research direction in the sustainable utilization of saline-alkali land. The present study systematically summarizes the research progresses in the reclamation and fertile plough layer construction of saline-alkali land, and looks forward to the integrate regulation of soil water, fertilizer and salt and its synergistic relationship with plant growth under fertile plough layer construction in saline alkali land, in order to provide reference for the sustainable reclamation and utilization of saline-alkali land.