Currently, the shortage of freshwater is still prevalent in water-scarce regions throughout Viet Nam, notably the North Central region with 4 provinces: Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri. There are currently about 21,125 small-diameter wells in operation, with a total flow rate of approximately 61,100 m3 /day, and there still are 198,865 people who lack water, corresponding to a demand of 15,909 m3 /day. The water usage demand by 2030 is estimated at 16,472 m3 /day. Therefore, in this report, the authors will focus on researching and evaluating the current status and orientations for the exploitation, utilization, and protection of groundwater resources in the water-scarce of the North Central region. The research results show that the area has 11 water-bearing formations in terrigenous sediments, metamorphic sediments, Neogene Volcanic eruptions, Triassic, Ordovician-Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous-Permian periods, with an expected exploitation flow rate of 10,237 m3 /day, capable of supplying water for a total of 102,370 people with a water usage standard of 100 liters/person/day. The report has identified sanitary protection zones for residential water supply and recharge zones (replenishment areas) for particular projects, with a minimum radius of 20 meters for each project and a protection area of 3.0 to 12.0 km2 for the recharge zones, in order to reasonably and sustainably exploitation, utilization, and protection of groundwater resources.