To evaluate the adaptability of different mulching and hole-planting cultivation patterns on the growth and water utilization of flax，an experiment was conducted in the semi-arid region of central Gansu provence. Four planting patterns were conducted:open-field planting(CK)，full-film mulching with soil covering(T1)，multi-ridge and furrow full-film mulching(T2) and residual film mulching(T3)，and their effects on the water use characteristics and yield of flax were assessed. The results showed that the vertical variation of soil moisture content in the 0-60 cm tillage layer during the growth period was closely related to planting patterns，growth processes and precipitation，and the vertical distribution of soil moisture under different mulching holes showed a similar trend. Compared with open burrow sowing，the three mulching and hole sowing treatments significantly improved crop yield and water use efficiency，and the effects of multi-ridge and full-film hole sowing treatment were the best. The root growth process of flax sown in the three mulching holes was faster than that in the open burrows，which was mainly reflected in the taproot length，taproot diameter and taproot dry weight of flax roots. With the advancement of growth period，the taproot length，taproot diameter and taproot dry weight of flax roots showed as T2>T1>T3>CK，and there were significant differences between T1，T2，T3 and CK treatments(P<0.05). There was a close correlation between flax root growth indexes and environment，soil water and heat，and there was a significant or extremely significant positive correlation. Compared with CK，the three mulching and hole sowing modes significantly increased plant height，effective stem number，effective branch number，fruit number per plant and yield per plant，and the yield of T1，T2 and T3 treatments were increased by 38.8%，43.7% and 24.8%，respectively. After flax harvesting，the soil moisture content of the 0-100 cm soil layer was gradually increased with the increase of soil depth，and the variation law of soil moisture content of the three types of 0-100 cm soil layer was very similar，and there were two intersection nodes，that was，soil moisture pooled to the 20 and 60 cm soil layers. Compared with CK，the soil moisture content of different soil layers were increased by 20.29%-23.61% in 20 cm soil layer，11.92%-26.08% in 40 cm soil layer，1.67%-4.76% in 60 cm soil layer，6.07%-14.16% in 80 cm soil layer and 9.69%-17.78% in 100 cm soil layer. The total water storage of the 200 cm soil layer after flax harvesting was significantly lower than that of CK，and that in T1，T2 and T3 treatments were 11.17%，12.53% and 4.26% lower than CK，respectively，and there were significant differences(P<0.05)，and the water use efficiency of the three types of mulching and hole sowing was higher than that of CK，which was 41.63%，48.95% and 29.71% for T1，T2 and T3 treatments，respectively，and the difference was significant(P<0.05). Therefore，it was considered that multi-ridge and furrow full-film hole sowing，full-film soil covering hole seeding and residual film mulching hole seeding could be used as suitable mulching cultivation modes for flax，which could be selected according to local conditions.