[Objective] The objective of this study is to solve the problems of unscientific destruction of soil structure, deterioration of soil quality and decline of crop yield in the semi-arid area of the Loess Plateau. The effects of tillage methods and nitrogen application rates on the stability of soil aggregates and maize yield were studied, in order to explore tillage methods and nitrogen application rates that can improve soil quality in arid areas, and provide technical and theoretical support for sustainable production of maize in dry farming. [Methods] Four tillage methods [rotary tillage（RT）, ploughing（CT）, no-till（NT）, subsoiling tillage（SS）] and two nitrogen application rates [N1（200 kg/hm²）, N2（300 kg/hm²）] on soil water stability aggregate content, stability index and maize yield in 0-50 cm soil layers.[Results] Compared with RT and CT, SS and NT significantly increased by 8.3%, 10.7%, 16.7% and 19.3%, respectively, and N1 was significantly higher than N2. Tillage and nitrogen application significantly affected the content of aggregates in different soil layers, NT increased the content of aggregates with a particle size of ＞5 mmeach soil layer at 0-50 cm, decreased the content of aggregates with a particle size of ＜0.25 mm, increased the content of aggregates with a particle size of 1-2 and 0.25-1 mm in soil layers of 5-10 cm with SS, and increased the content of aggregates with a particle size of 0.25-1 mm in soil layers of 0-5 and 5-10 cm in N1 treatment by 15.1 and 9.1 percentage points, respectively, compared with N2. NT can increase the average weight diameter（MWD） and geometric average diameter（GMD） of aggregates in each soil layer at 0-50 cm, and reduce the aggregation fragmentation rate（PAD）. The effects of SS on MWD, GMD and PAD showed the characteristics of soil strata differentiation. The nitrogen application rate only affected the PAD of 10-30 and 30-50 cm soil layers, and N1 was significantly lower than that of N2 by 4.4% and 3.3%, respectively. Correlation analysis showed that soil volume quality and soil porosity were significantly negatively correlated with MWD and GMD, while maize yield was significantly positively correlated with GMD and MWD.[Conclusion] Under the experimental conditions, the application of N 200 kg/hm² combined with no tillage and subsoiling tillage can significantly improve the stability of soil agglomeration, improve soil structure and increase yield, and it is recommended to apply it in production.