Abstract: Water yield not only has a significant impact on the hydrological cycle and water balance of a basin but also closely related to regional natural environments and human activities.Investigating the spatiotemporal variation patterns and driving mechanisms of water yield is of critical practical importance for optimizing regional spatial planning and enhancing ecosystem services.This study evaluated water yield in the Wuling Mountain Area from 2000 to 2022 using the InVEST model, analyzed its spatiotemporal characteristics and future trends through coefficient of variation (CV), Theil-Sen trend analysis, Mann-Kendall significance test, and Hurst index, and explored driving factors using geodetector and multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) models.The results indicate that:1) The water yield in the Wuling Mountain Area exhibited pronounced fluctuations with a slight upward trend, showing spatial heterogeneity characterized by a "high in northwest and southeast, low in southwest and northeast" distribution pattern.2) The coefficient of variation for water yield fluctuated significantly, and although a weak increasing trend was observed historically, future projections suggest a nonsignificant decline.3) The water yield in the Wuling Mountain Area results from the combined effects of natural factors and human activities.From 2000 to 2022, the driving factors were ranked by their influence magnitude as follows: GDP, slope, NDVI, population, aspect, topographic relief, NPP, elevation, and temperature.Notably, the interaction between NPP and slope (0.801) exhibited the strongest combined influence, followed by NPP∩topographic relief (0.787), slope∩population (0.772), and NPP∩NDVI (0.756).4) The impacts of driving factors on water yield in the Wuling Mountain Area exhibit distinct spatial heterogeneity.Precipitation, elevation, temperature, and population demonstrate strong positive driving effects on water yield services, whereas evapotranspiration, NDVI and GDP show pronounced negative effects.Spatially, the influence of precipitation, evapotranspiration, temperature, and GDP on water yield is more prominent in the northeastern part of the study area, while NPP, elevation, slope, and aspect dominate in the southeastern region.A pivotal finding is the shift in NPP’s impact on water yield from positive to negative in 2010.Additionally, aspect and topographic relief exert positive effects on water yield in low-altitude zones but transition to negative effects in high-altitude areas.This study provides scientific support for water resource utilization, management, and ecological sustainability in the Wuling Mountain Area, offering guidance for ensuring water security in the Yangtze River Basin.