Abstract: Using Yunchangjing No.1, a drought resistant variety in Yunnan plateau as the experimental sample, we have studied the effect of seven water-saving modes on the dry nursery seedling quality and yield(they are straw mulching, shading treatment, drought resistant agent, dry-cultivation nurse, the 2–4 leaf stage drought, the 4–5 leaf stage drought and 80% irrigation). The result shows that the cultivation of 7 water-saving modes can help to save water of 3 975.60, 2 257.50, 2 169.15, 1 675.80, 3 597.45, 1 341.90, 1 775.25 m3/hm2 respectively, especially, the straw mulching mode has the most significant efficiency in saving water. In addition, application of dry-cultivation nurse can significantly improve the seedling quality as well as the number of effective panicles (4.238 5×106 /hm2) and spikelet number (6.02×109 /hm2), which ultimately produce the highest yield (10.15 t/hm2). The stage droughts (2–4 leaf stage drought and 4–5 leaf stage drought) reduce the seedling quality, the number of effective panicles and spikelet numbers are reduced accordingly, and the yields are significantly reduced to 7.28 t/hm2 and 7.37 t/hm2 respectively. In conclusion, applying the dry-cultivation nurse in rice cultivation can not only save water but also increase the yield.