Abstract: Taking the No.1 open coal mine as the research area, using seven parameters, aquifer depth, net recharge, topography, impact of the vadose zone, permeability coefficient, slope distance and land type, the improved DRTIC-SL evaluation model was constructed to evaluate the vulnerability of groundwater.Based on theory of spatial data analysis, mapping, information extraction and spatial statistics of ArcGIS and Geoda, the spatial distribution characteristics and spatial correlation pattern of the groundwater vulnerability of Shengli open-pit mine are discussed.The results showed that the proportions of the lowest vulnerability, low vulnerability, moderate vulnerability, high vulnerability, and the highest vulnerability in the study area were 19.09%, 20.58%, 34.17%, 20.95%, and 5.21%; the highest-vulnerable areas were mainly distributed in the stope and dump; DRTIC-SL model was suitable for groundwater vulnerability evaluation of large-scale open-pit mines in steppe region; in the study area, there was obvious spatial autocorrelation.The study provided an important basis for the proposal of groundwater protection measures in the open-pit mining area in steppe region.