While reducing agricultural inputs (e.g., nitrogen (N) fertilizer and labor), increasing wheat yield are of great significance in wheat production. The study investigated whether “one-time root-zone N application” (ORZ), involving basal fertilizer without topdressing, can produce a high yield and N absorption compared with “conventional split N by broadcasting” (CSB) at specific N rates and sowing row spacing in wheat. A three-year field study was conducted in the Yangtze River Delta region, China, to compare ORZ and CSB for winter wheat under two sowing row spacings [equal row spacing (ER, 20 cm) and wide and narrow row spacing (WNR, 30 + 10 cm)]. The ammonium-N content in the soil at the fertilization site was 751.5 mg kg⁻¹ (ORZ-WNR) and 539.5 mg kg⁻¹ (ORZ-ER), which were higher than those of CSB-WNR and CSB-ER 30 days after sowing. However, no significant difference was observed 160 days after sowing. ORZ stimulated root proliferation in wheat around the fertilization site. The wheat yield of ORZ was higher than that of CSB under each N rate, and the highest yield was 8.06 t ha⁻¹ (225 kg N ha⁻¹), which increased by 12.9% over the CSB rate in 2017–2018. Under the ORZ treatment, wheat sowing spacing had no significant effect on yield. However, both produced higher yields than that of CSB. ORZ increased wheat yield by increasing spike number. Spike number of ORZ under ER and WNR increased 25.2%− 26.4% and 17.4%− 19.3% than CSB, respectively. The residual fertilizer N in soil under ORZ was 47.6% and 51.2% higher than that in CSB under ER and WNR, respectively, and mainly distributed in 0–20 cm soil layer. ORZ increased N recovery in wheat and soil by 29.5% (ER) and 25.6% (WNR) at the same planting row spacing compared with that of CSB. In conclusion, ORZ can significantly increase wheat yield compared with CSB. It is a suitable alternative to CSB for winter wheat in the Yangtze River Delta Region of China.