As the main producing area of wheat and maize in China, Henan Province produces considerable greenhouse gases during the production and planting processes. Determining the characteristics of carbon and nitrogen footprint changes during the growth process and analyzing the key driving factors will provide a basis for the green production of wheat and maize. Based on the life cycle assessment and LMDI model, the spatio-temporal characteristics, composition change trends, and driving factors of the carbon and nitrogen footprint during wheat and maize production in Henan Province from 2011 to 2020 were systematically evaluated. The results showed that： ① The production cost of wheat was higher than that of maize. ② The carbon footprint per unit area （ CO