Soil infiltration is essential for the redistribution of precipitation and water balance, whereas vegetation restoration enhances hydrological regulation. However, our understanding of how vegetation restoration affects soil properties and infiltration along the 400-600 mm mean annual precipitation (MAP) gradient in the erosionprone climatic transition zone of the Loess Plateau remains limited. This study conducted infiltration experiments across various vegetation plots along said MAP gradient using a double-ring infiltrometer. We analyzed variations in soil, vegetation, and infiltration among vegetation types and identified the controlling factors. The results showed that the soil clay and silt contents were higher and sand content lower in regions with higher MAP. Bulk density (BD), soil moisture, mean weight diameter (MWD), field capacity, pH, soil organic matter (SOM), and root length density (RLD) varied across the precipitation gradient and vegetation types. BD decreased with increasing precipitation (R-2 = 0.97, P < 0.05), and natural grasslands exhibited the highest soil structural stability. Vegetation restoration, particularly in natural grasslands and shrublands, enhanced infiltration, whereas steady infiltration rates (SIR) and average infiltration rates decreased with MAP, with SIR at 600 mm being approximately 32% lower than at 400 mm. Extreme Gradient Boosting combined with Shapley Additive Explanations identified aboveground biomass (AGB), slope, and clay content as the main predictors of infiltration. Specifically, AGB and slope jointly influenced infiltration through their interaction, whereas BD and MWD modified the contributions of RLD and clay to infiltration. These findings provide insights for developing vegetation restoration strategies suitable for the transition zone of the Loess Plateau.