An experiment was conducted to explore the effect of different irrigation amounts on leaf area dynamics and grain yield of spring maize in oasis of Hexi corridor.The results showed that the leaf area per plant gets to peak during early filling to middle filling and stably kept to the end of filling, after that it attenuates quickly.The negative relative growth rate of leaf area appears since early grain filling and accordingly the leaf area attenuation gradually appears. Compared to the full irrigation, the efficient limited irrigation can save 31.1% of water and enhance 2.9% of yield. The increase of grain weight, row grain number, and spike grain number by the efficient limited irrigation are the main reasons of high yield and water saving for maize.Therefore, the different irrigation amounts greatly affect the leaf area and yield formation of maize. Therefore, special emphasis should be laid on promoting sustainable development of leaf area during middle to late crop growth stages through supplementary effect caused by limited water deficit at early stages (moderate water deficit regulation at jointing while mild deficit regulation from bell stage to booting of maize)so as to get both high yield and high efficient water use of oasis maize.