| Two wheat varieties, ‘Xinong 979’ and ‘Xiaoyan 22’, differing in their drought tolerance, were used as materials in the bowl cultivation experiment. This study investigated the effects of Pantoea cypripedii TA1 on wheat growth traits, drought\|related gene expression, and osmotic adjustment substances in leaf tissues under varying levels of drought stress. The results showed that under moderate drought conditions, compared with the non\|inoculation treatments, inoculation with P. cypripedii TA1 increased the aboveground fresh mass of ‘Xiaoyan 22’ and ‘Xinong 979’ by 19.30% and 16.67%, chlorophyll content by 24.81% and 12.50%, and leaf relative water content by 9.84% and 7.36%. Notably, malondialdehyde content decreased by 20.69% and 13.33%, respectively. Under five days of drought stress, TA1 treatment significantly upregulated the expression of drought responsive genes (TaDREB2A, TaLEA, TaP5CS, AKT1, TaMYB33, and SnRK2) in ‘Xiaoyan 22’ wheat by 79.07%, 24.04%, 20.23%, 41.68%, 32.03%, and 16.77%, respectively. However, ‘Xinong 979’ exhibited lower upregulation of these genes compared to ‘Xiaoyan 22’. Additionally, TA1 treatment enhanced concentrations of K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, proline, and water\|soluble protein by 8.95%, 10.28%, 6.61%, 20.77%, and 23.76%, respectively, in ‘Xiaoyan 22’, with greater increases compared to drought\|sensitive ‘Xinong 979’ (4.66%, 9.82%, 3.13%, 13.03%, and 22.09%). In conclusion, the rhizobacterium TA1 enhances wheat’s osmotic adjustment capacity, particularly benefiting ‘Xiaoyan 22’ in improving drought tolerance. |