Abstract: It is not only a crucial step to drive the agricultural ecosystem towards the objective of "carbon neutrality", but also an urgent requirement for achieving sustainable agricultural development to explore and quantify the influence of straw returning strategies on the accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC) in different major corn-producing areas. This study innovatively employed a meta-analysis approach to systematically disclose the degree of impact of straw returning to farmland in different major corn-producing areas on soil organic carbon content and its regional variances, with the aim of comprehensively assessing and integrating the specific enhancement effects of straw returning practices on SOC content in corn-growing areas throughout the country.The results of our study reveal that straw return has led to an increase in organic carbon content in soils from various primary corn-producing areas. The magnitude of these increases ranged from 1.36% to 48.85%, indicating a significant enhancement effect on soil organic carbon levels. Specifically, in the warm temperate zone of China, due to the combined effect of climate suitability and soil conditions, coupled with the acceleration of straw decomposition rate by low fertility, low bulk density and alkaline soil, SOC demonstrated an especially remarkable improvement effect, increasing by 19.02%, 39.12%, 34.42% and 20.56%, respectively. The soil characteristics of these regions offer favorable circumstances for the rapid decomposition of straw and carbon stabilization, thereby expediting the SOC accumulation process. Overall, our findings highlight the potential benefits of implementing straw returning practices in corn-producing regions for enhancing soil organic carbon content and contributing to agricultural sustainability efforts towards achieving "carbon neutrality". In the Northeast region, factors such as frost-free period, temperature, and soil pH significantly influenced the enhancement effect of organic carbon. The soil environment with low phosphorus, high available potassium and low bulk density provided the ideal chemical and physical conditions for the conversion of carbon elements in straw into stable SOC. These specific soil chemical properties and physical structures not only facilitated the decomposition of straw, but also enhanced the retention capacity of SOC in the soil, which made the increase of SOC content in this area particularly prominent after the straw was returned to the field. Owing to its distinctive geographical location and climatic conditions, irrigation and mulching technology play a key role in agricultural production in Northwest China. The application of these technologies effectively mitigates the negative impact of natural precipitation fluctuation and extreme temperature change on SOC accumulation. When the average annual temperature was less than 10 ℃, straw returning to the field could significantly increase the soil organic carbon content by 40.71%. When the average annual precipitation is less than 500mm, soil organic carbon can increase by 43.62% under the condition of straw returning due to the influence of irrigation measures. In this context, the amount of straw returned to the field become the key factors to determine the SOC improvement effect. Long-term and appropriate straw returning to the field not only contributes to the improvement of soil structure, but also significantly increases SOC storage (32.90%), laying a solid foundation for the carbon cycle and stability of the agro-ecosystem. In other warm and humid regions, both frost-free periods and fertilizer addition predominantly governed rapid straw decomposition and subsequent accumulation of organic carbon. The synergetic effect of scientific fertilization and mulch returning measures not only met the nutrient demand for crop growth, but also further increased the SOC content (51.03% and 34.29%) by reducing nutrient loss and enhancing soil carbon fixation capacity. Therefore, it is imperative to implement collaborative strategies tailored to regional climate and soil conditions—specifically through scientific fertilization practices alongside appropriate measures for straw return to create new pathways for enhancing the carbon sink capacity within agricultural ecosystems.