Water-saving irrigation is a hotspot in cultivation research of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Many investigations have been carried out to reduce the irrigation frequency and water amount. However, the conclusions are quite different due to the great discrepancies on precipitation and experimental condition. In this study, a strategy of water-controlled irrigation based on measuing soil water content was adopted, and several delayed irrigation treatments were tested for their effects on water consumption, water use efficiency (WUE), and wheat yield in two sites of Shandong province, China in 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 growing seasons. The expected water content of 0–140 cm soil layer was designed for 65–80% in different treatments, and two irrigations were given at jointing or 10 d after jointing and flowering stages. In the treatments irrigated at the same time, the daily water consumption from jointing to flowering stage and the water consumption amount in the whole growth duration increased with promoting the level of supplemental irrigation, but the soil water consumption amount in 0–120 cm soil layer decreased. The consumption amount of soil water showed an increase–decrease trend, and its percentage to the total water consumption amount decreased. Simultaneously, the comsumption percentage of precipitation to the total water consumption amount was also reduced. Under the same irrigation level, compared with normal irrigation at jointing, the delayed irrigation (at 10 d after jointing) reduced the daily water consumption from jointing to 10 d after jointing stage, but promoted the daily water consumption at flagging stage. From jointing to flowering stage, the comsumption amont of soil water in 80–120 cm soil layer, the total water comsumption amount increased with the more irrigation water supplied. However, the comsumption percentages of precipitation, supplemental irrigation, and soil water were in minor changes.At early filling stage, the flag leaf area and the transpiration per unit area of soil decreased and the evaporation increased in the delayed irrigation treatment. Although reduced spike number per hectare, the grain number, thousand-grain weight, grain yield, WUE, and irrigation production efficiency were higher in the delayed irrigation treatment than in the treatment of irrigation at jointing stage. Under the experimental condition (2007–2008 growing season), the first supplemental irrigation at 10 d after joining with a relative water content of 75% in 0–140 cm soil layer and the second irrigation at flowering with a relative water content of 70% were considered to be an optimal water-saving management for wheat high-yielding production.