Development trend discussion of water-saving irrigation technology and equipment at home and abroad based on patent analysis method

China is not only one of the 13 countries with poor per capita water resources in the world, but also a large agricultural country．Agricultural water use is important component of overall utilization of water resource in the whole country．Saving agricultural water is directly related to development of national economy．Current situation of water-saving irrigation in China was summarized, and from perspective of patent, Patsnap patent database was used as data source．Global patent application volume, patent application types, ranking of regional patent number of applicants, direction of five bureaux, geographical distribution of important technology branches, patent number ranking of applicants（patent rights）, innovative word clouds and cell diagram from 2014 to 2023, were analyzed．Results showed that number of patent applications in China has been on rise in past 10 years, ranking first in the world．In five bureaux flow distribution, China was the largest technology source country and technology application country, but in development of foreign markets was far less than the United States．China's patent research and development institutions were mainly scientific research institutes and universities, although degree of activity continued to improve, but compared with patent companies in European and American countries there was still a certain gap．Based on above analysis, it was recommended to enhance patent research and development capabilities of enterprises in the future, and promote transformation and implementation of water-saving irrigation technology achievements; emphasize overseas layout of patents and expand market to global level; introduce technologies such as internet of things and sensors to promote development of water-saving irrigation towards intelligence and precision．