Abstract: Waterlogging in the Huaibei plain has been a serious natural disaster which attracts tremendous attentions from government and local communities due to its huge influence on society and economy. It is of significance to study the response law of groundwater depth to precipitation change and the method of waterlogging evaluation for supporting the planning of regional drainage disaster reduction and crop harvest. Based on daily data of precipitation, groundwater depth and soil moisture measured at the Wudaogou Experimental Station with a time span of 32 years, the variation characteristics of precipitation and groundwater depth were analyzed by using statistical methods. Meanwhile, the effects of crops and different rainfall intensity on groundwater depth were investigated. Further more, waterlogging situation was evaluated by using the positive anomaly method and Z index method. The results show that annual precipitation in the shallow groundwater area in Huaibei plain mainly concentrates in the period from May to September. Precipitation dominates the increase range of groundwater level in the early stage of crop growth due to less water demand. However, groundwater level would continually decline in the crop growing stage due to dramatic increase in water demand. The groundwater depth presents a bimodal variation over a year. In the shallow groundwater area, the groundwater depth is elastic to the precipitation within a certain range. By comparing the response time of groundwater level under different rainfall intensities, it is found that the response time of groundwater level gradually decreases with the increase of rainfall intensity. Both the positive anomaly method and the Z index method are effective in evaluating the waterlogging situation in the shallow groundwater area of Huaibei. However, the Z index method might overestimate the severity of waterlogging disaster for a long-lasting drought and low groundwater level before rainfall occurs.