Abstract: China is a country with scarce water resources, and the spatial-temporal distribution of water resources is not compatible with arable land and population. Agricultural development is thus hindered, it is important to study the drivers of agricultural water use to save water. This study selected the Yangtze River Economic Zone as the research object, the agricultural economy of which accounts for more than 40% of the national total, and selected the influencing factors of agricultural water consumption against the perspective of water-energy-food-land nexus. The LMDI method was used to analyze its spatial-temporal evolution and the driving effects related to population scale effect, irrigation quota effect, land use effect, machinery use effect, per capita mechanical power effect and agricultural employment structure effect. The results indicated that: (1) The per capita mechanical power effect and the population size effect are the main factors for the incremental water use in agriculture; (2) The agricultural employment structure effect and the machinery use effect are the main factors in the reduction of water use; (3) The driving effect is heterogeneous across provinces and cities in terms of its impact on agricultural water consumption; (4) There is a temporally and spatially interchangeable correlation between the driving effects of agricultural water use in the Yangtze River Economic Zone. Therefore, it is recommended to reduce agricultural water consumption by regulating each driver effect in positive and negative mutual directions and differentiating water conservation policies by province and city. In addition, neighboring provinces can take advantage of interoperability and achieve a cooperative development in order to minimize differences in agricultural water consumption within the Yangtze River Economic Zone.