Abstract: The response of karst groundwater level to rainfall features spatial and temporal variability. There is no consensus regarding the groundwater dynamic system structure of the Zengpiyan cave site in Guilin,Guangxi,China. Based on high-resolution data on rainfall water level,the study area was divided into different aquifers. The characteristics and cause of spatial and temporal variability of karst groundwater level's response to rainfall were explored using water level dynamics,correlation analysis,and sliding window cross-correlation analysis. The results show that in terms of the response to rainfall,the water level of aquifers with a high degree of karst development and diffusion flow for water diversion rises and falls slowly,featuring a strong autocorrelation in water level;the water level of aquifers developed with karst conduits rises and falls rapidly,with a fast decay rate of water-level autocorrelation coefficient,a short lag time in response to rainfall,and a multimodal cross-correlation function graph. The extreme non-uniformity of karst development is the primary cause of differences in spatial response. The response lag of the groundwater level to rainfall in the rainy season is much smaller than during the dry season. This is because,in the rainy season,there is a large amount of cumulative rainfall,the buried depth of groundwater is shallow,and the aerated zone is constantly in a saturated or near-saturated state,causing the groundwater supply to become saturated by vertical rainfall infiltration relatively quickly. Further,the frequent rainstorms in the rainy season can generate to a large hydraulic gradient in a short period of time,accelerating the runoff replenishment speed of aquifers. Taken together,the groundwater system of the Zengpiyan cave site consists of 3 sub-runoff systems,i.e. the NE karst conduit,the NS conduit-fracture,and the NE strong runoff zones. The research results can provide theoretical basis and technical reference for the cave site to formulate plans of preventing and controlling underground water hazards.