The Ordos Basin is a large-scale sedimentary basin in northwestern China.The hydrostratigraphic units from bottom to top are pre-Cambrian metamorphic rocks,Lower Paleozoic carbonate rocks,Upper Paleozoic to Mesozoic clastic rocks and Cenozoic deposits.The total thickness is up to 6000 m.Three groundwater systems are present in the Ordos Basin,based on the geological settings,i.e.the karst groundwater system,the Cretaceous clastic groundwater system and the Quaternary groundwater system.This paper describes systematically the groundwater flow patterns of each system and overall assessment of groundwater resources. The Ordos Basin is a large-scale sedimentary basin in northwestern China. The hydrostratigraphic units from bottom to top are pre-Cambrian metamorphic rocks, Lower Paleozoic carbonate rocks, Upper Paleozoic to Mesozoic clastic rocks and Cenozoic deposits. The total thickness is up to 6000 3.Three groundwater systems are present in the Ordos Basin, based on the geological settings, iethe karst groundwater system, the Cretaceous clastic groundwater system and the Quaternary groundwater system. This paper describes systematically the groundwater flow patterns of each system and overall assessment of groundwater resources.