Abstract: Groundwater is an important drinking water source in the Gexiang river basin of the Wumeng mountains area. Because of the complex development law of groundwater and the huge topographic relief, the development and utilization of groundwater are facing big difficulties, resulting in water shortage in the vast area. To solve this problem, the hydrogeological investigation team of Institute of Karst Geology used the comprehensive investigation, exploration and the evaluation method of karst groundwater and the combination method of effective geophysical exploration of "three determinations" to clarify the occurrence and development law of groundwater in the study area, reveal the genetic mechanism of frequent droughts in the basin, establish four types of water storage structure models, summarize five types of locations with rich water, and effectively apply them to severe droughts in the water shortage area. The success rate of well location increased more than 70%, which has solved the problem of drinking water for more than 20,000 people in the basin, and effectively aided in the effort of poverty alleviation.