To further explore the evolution patterns of wheat varieties in the dryland areas of the Huanghuai region, 67 wheat varieties approved by the state from 2006 to 2023 were used as experimental materials. The variation analysis, linear analysis, correlation analysis, path analysis and cluster analysis were conducted on the main agronomic traits (plant height, effective spike number, grain number per spike, thousand-grain weight and yield) and quality traits (protein content, wet gluten content, stability time, test weight and water absorption rate) of the wheat varieties in the dryland of the Huanghuai region. The results showed that the coefficient of variation of stability time of the wheat varieties in the dryland of the Huanghuai region was the largest, reaching 72.31%, while the coefficients of variation of other agronomic and quality traits were relatively small (2.23%-14.37%). Plant height and thousand-grain weight showed a gradually decreasing trend, with an average annual decrease of 0.21 cm and 0.03 g, respectively; grain number per spike, effective spike number and yield showed a steady upward trend, with an average annual increase of 0.11 grains, 4.71×10⁴ spikes·hm^-2 and 28.73 kg·hm^-2, respectively; protein content and wet gluten content showed a decreasing trend year by year, with an average annual decrease of 0.04% and 0.03%, respectively; stability time, test weight and water absorption rate showed a slow increasing trend, with an average annual increase of 0.2 min, 1.48 g·L^-1 and 0.04%, respectively. The results of correlation analysis showed that yield was significantly (P<0.05) or extremely significantly (P<0.01) positively correlated with thousand-grain weight, grain number per spike, and effective spike number, while plant height was significantly negatively correlated with yield; protein content was extremely significantly positively correlated with wet gluten content, and the test weight was significantly positively correlated with the water absorption rate. Path analysis indicated that the direct contribution to yield ranked as effective spike number (0.488)>thousand-grain weight (0.356)>grain number per spike (0.303)>plant height (-0.069). The cluster analysis classified the 67 varieties into four categories according to quality indicators. Class I varieties had the best performance in stability time and test weight; Class II varieties had the highest average values of water absorption rate, wet gluten content, and protein content; Class Ⅲ contained the most varieties, with the lowest average values of protein content and stability time among the four groups; Class IV varieties have the lowest test weight. In conclusion, for wheat breeding in the dryland of the Huanghuai region, it is necessary to appropriately reduce plant height while increase effective spike number, grain number per spike, and thousand-grain weight to enhance yield. At the same time, attention should be paid to improving the quality of the varieties to achieve high yield and quality.