Xinjiang, a province characterized by its arid climate and scarce rainfall, heavily depends on mulch plastic films for agricultural practices. Plastic film mulching represents a contemporary agricultural and efficient technique for enhancing agricultural productivity. However, as its application persists over the years, the resultant accumulation of plastic film residues in the soil emerges a substantial risk to the environmental integrity of the soil and the broader ecological health. In order to understand the effect of residual plastic film on soil physicochemical properties and cotton yield, the soil parameters, including moisture content, electrical conductivity, pH, alkali hydrolyzed nitrogen, available potassium, and available phosphorus, were collected and analyzed after cotton harvest each year. It is found that the presence of film residues correlated with a decline in soil density, enhanced soil porosity, diminished soil water content, and an uptick in electrical conductivity in the uppermost 30 cm of the soil. The presence of these residues hindered root growth, which in turn affected the nutrient absorption capacity of cotton roots. Notably, there was a noticeable decline in cotton yield when the residual film quantity reached a threshold of 1000 kg/hm2. This decline was even steeper, at 38.09%, when residues hit 4000 kg/hm(2). It suggests that excessive retention of plastic films in the soil negatively influences its physical and chemical attributes, ultimately impairing the growth of cotton. The research provides a basis for the sustainable development of agriculture and ecological security in Xinjiang.