The ecological environment of the northwest inland basin is fragile. The groundwater environment is a crucial influencing factor for the harmonious and sustainable development of the local social economy and the ecological environment. It is significant to investigate the groundwater chemical characteristics, water quality, and the factors that influence groundwater chemistry for groundwater resources development and construction of the ecological environment. In this study, the Jinta Basin (JB), Gansu Province, was the selected study area. Three hundred and fifty groups of shallow groundwater samples in the JB were collected and analyzed, and the characteristics and controlling factors of groundwater were determined by using Piper diagram, Gibbs plot, ion ratio relationship, and factor analysis. Single index evaluation method, comprehensive evaluation method, and entropy-weighted water quality index method were used to evaluate the water quality of the groundwater. The results indicated that the shallow pore water in the JB was alkaline as a whole; the ranges of total dissolved solids (TDS) in the Beidahe River impact area (BIA), the transition area (TA) and the Heihe River impact area (HIA) were 328.4–12,400 mg·L⁻¹, 372.70–3774.0 mg·L⁻¹, and 366.30–75,200.0 mg·L⁻¹, respectively; the major anions and cations of the shallow pore water were SO₄²⁻/Cl⁻ and Mg²⁺/Na⁺, respectively. The Piper diagram illustrated that the hydrochemical type of groundwater in the JB were mainly HCO₃·SO₄-Mg type, SO₄·HCO₃-Mg type, SO₄-Mg·Na type, SO₄·Cl-Na·Mg type, and Cl-Na type. The overall water quality of the shallow groundwater in the JB was relatively poor, mainly falling into Class IV-V water quality. Sulfate, total hardness (TH), TDS, chloride and sodium were the main influencing factors of water quality. The chemical characteristics of groundwater in the JB were controlled by a variety of natural factors, including rock weathering, evaporative concentration, and cation exchange, among which the main controlling factors of shallow pore water were leaching, evaporative concentration and anthropogenic activities (contribution rate of 73.94%), and sulfate rock and carbonate rock dissolution (contribution rate of 14.91%).