[Aim]  To clarify the composition and structure of the arthropod community in the upper canopy of cotton fields in the Korla cotton-growing region of Xinjiang, determine the population dynamics and occurrence patterns of the major pests and their natural enemies and analyze correlations between these, thereby improving the forecasting of pest outbreaks and the evaluation of the pest control function of natural enemies within agricultural ecosystems. [Methods]  Systematic monitoring of the arthropod community in the upper canopy of cotton fields in the Korla cotton-growing region of Xinjiang was conducted using suction traps from 2022 to 2025. [Results]  A total of 159 148 individual arthropods, belonging to 9 orders and 40 families, were captured. The main taxa were the Hemiptera (winged aphids and planthoppers), Diptera (flies and mosquitoes), Thysanoptera (thrips), and the Hymenoptera (parasitic wasps). The highest Shannon diversity and Margalef richness indices over the four-year study period were recorded in April 2024. Among the major pest groups, winged aphids peaked from June to August, thrip abundance increased annually and coincided with cotton flowering, and leafhoppers were most abundant in 2025. Ladybeetles consistently tracked aphid populations, spiders showed year-to-year variation in prey targets, forming relatively stable predatory relationships with planthoppers in 2024 and 2025, and green lacewings were strongly correlated with thrips in 2022. [Conclusion]  Arthropod community species richness increased year by year in the Korla cotton-growing region, which has a relatively high overall species diversity. Significant interactions between major pests and their natural enemies were observed during certain periods. These findings provide a scientific basis for developing integrated pest management strategies in cotton fields and have significant implications for promoting sustainable agricultural practices.