To improve the light rain availability and soil ventilation in semi-arid area, this paper studied the effectiveness of perforated plastic film mulching on maize field. The results showed that perforated plastic film mulching had the benefits of receiving rainfall and supplementing soil moisture. Soil CO2 content increased with increasing area of mulching, and was lower under perforated plastic film mulching than under common plastic film mulching. A negative correlation was observed between maize root vitality and soil CO2 content. The maize yield under perforated film mulching was 8.98% higher than that under common film mulching.