Abstract: The Yangtze River economic belt is one of the main carriers of China’s economic development whose problem of water resource utilization continues to be concerned. To explore the spatio-temporal correlation pattern and driving factors between water footprint and provincial scale from 2006 to 2020, the spatio-temporal relationship was calculated by decoupling model and disequilibrium index. The factors affecting regional water resource consumption were explored by geographically and temporally weighted regression model and to be discussed from the perspective of heterogeneity. The results showed that: (1)The growth rate of the water footprint in the Yangtze River Economic Belt decreases year by year, and the spatial distribution pattern of water footprint intensity of each province is similar to that of per capita water footprint.（2)There is a weak decoupling between water footprint and economic scale from 2006 to 2020, but 6/11 regions have reached an ideal state of strong decoupling during The thirteenth Five-Year Plan period. Provinces with abundant water resources have good coordination with population size while the balance between water footprint and spatial scale is related to the topography. （3)The water footprint is affected by provincial scale, water-saving technology, industrial structure, and water resources management. Moreover, the effects have spatio-temporal heterogeneity changing with the development stage and regional change.