In the present study, the field investigation and indoor analysis were conducted to study the litter characteristics, soil physical features, soil infiltration characteristics and water retention capacities of different vegetation types in dump of opencast coal mine, and water retention capacities were evaluated by principal component analysis. The results indicated that the thickness and amount of litter were different significantly (P<0.05) among three vegetation types, and the litter thickness of arbor land, shrub land and weeds land were 1.80, 1.23, and 0.83 cm, respectively, and the litter accumulation of three vegetation types were 6.76, 2.96, and 0.58 t/hm2, respectively. The water retention capacity and interception capacity of litter in arbor land was the maximum, which was significantly greater than those in shrub land and weeds land (P<0.05). The soil bull density was in the order of weeds land > shrub land > arbor land. The soil infiltration capacity of arbor land and shrub land were significantly greater than that of weeds land, and the infiltration rate, the stable infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration of three vegetation types were 1.53 ～ 4.08 mm/min, 0.20 ～ 1.51 mm/min, 28 ～133 mL, respectively. The actual storage capacity of arbor land and shrub land were both greater than that of weeds land, and the water storage efficiency of arbor land and shrub land were significantly higher than that of weeds land (P<0.05). The water retention capacities of different vegetation types were evaluated by principal component analysis. Fifteen indicators were optimized into 3 principal components, with a cumulative contribution rate of 96.832%. The water retention capacities of different vegetation types were in the order of arbor land > shrub land > weeds land. To improve the water retention capacity of litter and soil of dump, arbor (Robinia pseudoacacia) could be selected as the main reclaimed vegetation.