BACKGROUND Maize production in arid and semi-arid regions is constrained by water shortages, high evaporation and inefficient nitrogen application. Optimizing water-nitrogen management is essential for enhancing maize growth, yield and resource use efficiency under drip irrigation. However, most existing strategies prioritize yield over a comprehensive evaluation of resource efficiency. To address this, a two-year field experiment was conducted using four irrigation levels (W1-W4: 150-295 mm in 2023; 130-250 mm in 2024) and five nitrogen applications (120-280 kg ha-1). A high-input treatment served as a local control (385 mm irrigation + 360 kg ha-1 N in 2023; 345 mm + 360 kg ha-1 N in 2024).RESULTS The W3N240 treatment (240 mm irrigation and 240 kg ha-1 N) enhanced root and above-ground growth, achieving the highest observed yields (14 673.2 kg ha-1 in 2023; 15 067.3 kg ha-1 in 2024), as well as high water productivity (WP: 3.50 and 3.62 kg m-3), irrigation water productivity (IWP: 6.10 and 7.65 kg m-3) and nitrogen partial productivity (PFPN: 61.1 and 62.8 kg kg-1). Response surface analysis indicated optimal ranges of water consumption (410-440 mm) and nitrogen application (180-250 kg ha-1), ensuring >= 95% of maximum yield while maintaining high efficiency (>= 85% of WP and IWP, and >= 60% PFPN).CONCLUSION Optimizing water-nitrogen management significantly enhanced maize productivity and resource use efficiency under drip irrigation. The identified optimal ranges offer a practical reference for sustainable water-nitrogen management in arid and semi-arid maize production systems. (c) 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.