Abstract: The hydrological cycle changes in the Loess Plateau have attracted a global attention due to the combination of climate, land use changes, and the implementation of gully consolidation and highland protection (GCHP) project.The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and the China Meteorological Assimilation Driving Datasets (CMADS) were used to quantitatively analyse the effects of the GCHP project and four distinct land use scenarios on the evolution of the hydrological cycle in the Malian River basin.The results indicate that the SWAT and CMADS model effectively simulates the hydrological process changes in the basin.From 1995 to 2020, there was a decrease in the annual average runoff volume within the basin by 130.875 0 million m³, representing a reduction of 4.56%.Compared to the land use scenario in 2020, the average annual runoff in the scenario of converting all farmland back to forest/grassland in the basin decreased by 2.838 0 million m³ and 19.237 0 million m³, respectively while the average annual runoff in the scenario of GCHP project (gully head landfill) decreased by 11.353 0 million m³.The simulation study on the impact of GCHP project and land use changes on runoff in the Malian River basin has significant practical implications for ecological environment protection and sustainable development.