AbstractThe utilization of saline water plays an important role in agricultural production in saline areas to overcome freshwater shortages. Ionized saline water might alleviate the adverse effects of salinity on soil and plants. In this study, field experiments were conducted to study the effect of ionized saline water on the soil water content and salinity distribution in a sandy soil under a surface emitter. Passing groundwater through an ionization system installed on a feeding pipeline resulted in producing ionized saline water. Three emitter discharges (1.0, 1.8, 3.1 L h−1) and two water types (non‐ionized and ionized saline water) were considered in the experiments. As a result of using ionized saline water, soil water content and salt leaching increased. Ionized treatment increased the salinity desalination rate by 31, 33 and 26% for surface soil layer in comparison with non‐ionized treatments of 1.0, 1.8 and 3.1 L h−1, respectively. It was found that using ionized saline water could decrease the surface wetting radius by 6–9% and increase the wetting depth by 11–17%. A discharge rate of 1.8 L h−1 was recommended as the optimal discharge rate for ionized saline water under drip irrigation. The results indicated that saline water could be improved through ionized treatment for agricultural irrigation in saline soils in an arid region.