During winter and spring seasons in cold-arid regions, physical crusts play a critical role in wind erosion prevention and control. Seasonal freeze-thaw, prevalent in mid-to-high latitudes, significantly alter soil structure and physical-mechanical properties. However, the mechanisms by which freeze-thaw cycles(FTC) influence physical crust characteristics-leading to either amplification or suppression of wind erosion-remain unclear. In this study, sandy loess samples were collected from the Liudaogou small watershed in Shenmu City, Shaanxi Province, on the northern Loess Plateau of China, and a combined study approach of laboratory-simulated FTC and wind tunnel experiments was employed. Wind erosion tests were conducted on physical crusts with varying coverage (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%) to investigate the effects of FTC on wind erosion intensity (WEI), sediment discharge rate, friction velocity, aerodynamic roughness, and other dynamic parameters. The results demonstrate that the effects of FTC on physical crust properties were clearly wind velocity dependent. WEI of physical crusts increased significantly with rising wind velocity (p < 0.05). Near-surface sediment discharge rate decreased markedly with higher crust coverage but increased significantly with greater wind velocity. Physical crusts effectively suppressed wind erosion events (p < 0.05); however, FTC intensified wind erosion and diminished the inhibitory effect. Post-freeze-thaw average friction velocity decreased compared to non-freeze-thaw conditions, while aerodynamic roughness exhibited the opposite trend. Independent component analysis and multiblock redundancy analysis revealed that increased WEI primarily correlated with reduced crust coverage and decreased aerodynamic roughness. Secondary factors included alterations in crust shear strength, thickness, bulk density, and hardness due to repeated FTC during winter, while soil organic matter content showed no significant relationship. These findings reveal the regulatory mechanism of seasonal freeze-thaw on the wind erosion response of physical crusts in the sandy loess of the northern Loess Plateau and effectively fill the research gap concerning freeze-thaw, crust, and wind erosion interactions in cold, arid regions.