In this paper, on the basis of the systematically clarified concepts of groundwater resources and the characteristics of groundwater aquifers, the present situation of groundwater exploitation in the water receiving areas of the South to North Water Transfer Project is analyzed, the measures for the control of groundwater overdraft in urban and rural areas and the effects of storage and regulation of local rainfall runoff and water diverted from Changjiang River, rational development of groundwater and utilization and desalinization of saline groundwater for the promotion of the water use efficiency and salinity control in the South to North Water Transfer Project are investigated.