The per capita water resources of Zhangjiakou city in 2015 was only 332 m3, or less than 17% of the national level, even below the internationally recognized extreme water shortage standard of 500 m3 per capita. Therefore, water shortage has become one of the major factors restricting the sustainable development of the city. In this paper, we divide Zhangjiakou into three geographical regions: the municipal district, the Bashang area and the Baxia area. On this basis, the water footprint account method is used to calculate the water footprint of the agricultural, industrial, construction, service and domestic sectors of the study city and its three subregions in 2005-2015. Then, the matching levels between water footprint and economic benefits in different regions and sectors are analyzed, and its spatial and temporal differences are discussed in detail. The results show that: (1) Potato cultivation became the main driving factor for the rapid increase of agricultural water footprint in Zhangjiakou city. The contribution rate of potato to agricultural water footprint increased from 10% to 50%, thus potato became the dominant crop, which was mainly planted in the Bashang area. (2) The industrial water footprint decreased by 64%, and the municipal district experienced the fastest decline; the water footprint of construction industry accounted for only 1%-4% of the industrial water footprint; the water footprint of service industry increased from 5.71 million m3 to 14.36 million m3. The municipal district witnessed the largest rise. (3) It is recommended that Zhangjiakou should continue to adjust the planting structure, maximize the use of precipitation, and reduce irrigation water; establish a water-related input-output table in the industrial sector, and plan the industrial structure and layout of the industry within the goal of saving water.