Abstract: Objective Historical legacy mines in northern ecologically fragile regions commonly show overlapping slope disturbance, vegetation degradation and soil erosion. This study identified the ecological status and dominant controls of unreclaimed historical legacy mines in Xing'an League, with the aim of supporting zoning-based soil and water conservation. Methods Sixty unreclaimed historical legacy mines were selected. A 14-indicator evaluation system was developed using a pressure-state-response (PSR) framework. Data included 0.1 m UAV orthophotos, 30 m DEM, precipitation, land-use change, soil erosion risk and governance-response information. Indicator weights were determined by analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and relative closeness (Ci) was calculated with TOPSIS. ArcGIS was used to analyze spatial differentiation. Twenty-two reference plots around typical mining areas were also investigated to support vegetation restoration interpretation; these plots were not used in the Ci calculation. Results Ci values ranged from 0.1826 to 0.8464, with a mean of 0.4997, a median of 0.5564 and a coefficient of variation of 34.64%. In terms of mine number, 6, 40 and 14 mines were classified as good, moderate and poor, respectively. In terms of area, the corresponding values were 165.64, 1035.30 and 332.32 hm², accounting for 10.8%, 67.5% and 21.7%. Good mines were mainly distributed in the 150-300 m elevation belt of Horqin Right Front Banner and Horqin Right Middle Banner, whereas poor mines were concentrated in the low-elevation gentle-slope zone of southern Ulanhot. The state layer had the highest weight (0.4912). Geological hazard risk, annual precipitation, soil erosion modulus, slope gradient and geomorphic landscape destruction rate were the dominant indicators, with a cumulative weight of 68.56%. The 22 reference plots recorded 22 species in 20 genera and 9 families, and the mean Shannon-Wiener index was 1.02. Conclusions Ecological degradation of historical legacy mines in Xing'an League is mainly controlled by slope stability, runoff generation conditions and soil erosion intensity. Restoration should focus on runoff reduction, slope stabilization, soil-cover improvement and reconstruction of native pioneer communities according to geomorphic position and mine type.