In order to investigate the ecological carrying capacity and sustainable development of the Ningxia Yellow Diversion Irrigation Area, based on the ecological footprint method, the ecological service value equivalent was used to localize the general equilibrium factor and yield factor in the ecological footprint model to quantitatively evaluate the ecological carrying capacity of different land uses in the Yellow Diversion Irrigation Area from 2010 to 2019, and the ecological carrying capacity results were compared with the results of the general factor. The results showed that: (1) the average value of the optimized equilibrium factor was waters (11.735) > forest land (1.561) > grassland (0.901) > cropland (0.785) > building land (0.073) > unused land (0.027), and the mean value of the yield factor is cropland = building land (1.701) > watershed (1.681) > forest land (1.680) > grassland (0.684), which better reflects the ecosystem of Ningxia Yellow River Diversion Irrigation Area capacity to provide production services and differences in national levels. (2) From 2010 to 2019, the overall trend of the ecological carrying capacity and ecological footprint of the Ningxia Diversion and Irrigation Area was to first decline and then increase, and the ecological footprint was always smaller than the ecological carrying capacity. (3) The ecological carrying capacity per capita in the study area had been increasing, the ecological surplus had been expanding, and the ecological quality had been improving. The study of the ecological carrying capacity and ecological footprint of the Ningxia Yellow River Irrigation Area provides theoretical support for the ecological construction of the region, and is of great significance in promoting ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin by leading from a single point.