This study quantitatively analyzed the contribution rate of recycled moisture to precipitation in the basin based on the Craig-Gordon model and the three-end-member mixing model through selecting 456 precipitation sample data collected from six sampling points in the source region of the Yellow River from September 2019 to August 2021. The results showed that: the contribution rate of moisture recycling to precipitation during the growing season is 40 %, and the total contribution to local moisture recycling is equivalent to 41 mm of precipitation. The contribution rate of evaporation and transpiration has obvious seasonal variation characteristics, showing a trend of decreasing first and then increasing in the source region of the Yellow River. Spatially, the contribution rate of evaporation and transpiration showed an increasing trend from south to north. It is assumed that all the precipitation generated by moisture recycling produces runoff, and the water yield is about 51 x 108 m3, which is 25 % of the total annual average runoff. In addition, the proportion of local moisture recirculation is mainly related to altitude, topography, vegetation coverage, and meteorological factors. Moisture recirculation is one of the important sources of precipitation in the source region of the Yellow River.