From the perspective of the production process, an evaluation system for the coupling and coordination relationship of the human-water system was constructed, including four-dimensional subsystems, i.e., producer-society, production material-resource, production environment-ecology, and production products-economy subsystems. The spatiotemporal evolution trend of coupling and coordination characteristics of the human-water system in Gansu Province from 2010 to 2023 was analyzed by using the multi-factor comprehensive evaluation method, the coupling coordination degree model, and the obstacle degree method. Findings reveal that the comprehensive evaluation indexes of the four subsystems did not exhibit a uniform change pattern from 2010 to 2023. Among them, the continuous growth of the product-economy subsystem was the primary driving force for coordinated development of the human-water system. The coupling coordination degree of the human-water system in various cities(prefectures) of Gansu Province showed an overall upward trend. However, the coupling coordination degree of the whole province was still at a barely coordinated level with limited growth. The production materialresource subsystem constituted the primary factor constraining the coordinated development of the humanwater system in Gansu Province. Consequently, enhancing resource utilization efficiency and reducing production pollution are key measures to improve the coordinated development level.