In order to explore the changing rules of soil water and salt movement under the condition of snow cover and surface mulching during the freezing and thawing season in Shihezi irrigation areas, we conducted a field plot test during 2015-2016 and investigated the temporal and spatial dynamic rules of water and salt in the soil with three different surface coverings, i.e. straw, plastic film, activated carbon, and bare land, during the whole seasonal freezing and thawing period. The results suggested that surface coverage was more effective in the preservation of soil moisture and salt reduction than the bare land. After the frozen soil was fully thawed, the deepest soil layer in which the water content increased was 0-30 cm and 0-40 cm for the soil covered with straw and activated carbon, respectively, indicating that the two kinds of coverings were more beneficial to the maintenance of soil moisture and the efficient use of snowmelt water after the freezing and thawing process. Compared with the initial value, the increase in salt content in the 0-30 cm soil layer in the soil covered with activated carbon, straw, plastic film, and bare land was 18.08%, 20.30%, 30.91%, and 32.81%, respectively, suggesting that the inhibition effect on the upward movement of salt by activated carbon coverage was the most significant, followed by straw mulching. During the process of freezing and thawing, the variability of soil moisture and salinity showed a decreasing tendency with the increasing of soil depth.