Wild licorice in China is mainly distributed in northern China, such as Gansu, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia Provinces. The origin of wild licorice has varied among historical periods. The origin of cultivated licorice in 59.26% of the cities that possess it was the same as that of wild licorice. The distribution of cultivated licorice was shifted to the northwest relative to that of wild licorice. Substantial variation was observed in the yield and quality of cultivated licorice in different production areas in China, and geographic variation was observed from west to east. The same batch of licorice seedlings was planted at 8 sites overlapping the main licorice production areas in China. The yield and quality of licorice in Baicheng experimental plot were low. The yield of licorice in the Jingtai and Altay experimental plots was high, but the quality was poor. The quality of licorice in Chifeng and Yuzhong experimental sites was high, but the yield was low. The HPLC fingerprint similarity of licorice samples from Baicheng, Jilin, and Suide, Shaanxi was low. Principal component analysis of environmental and soil factors generated five characteristic roots with a cumulative contribution rate of 80%, three of which were related to soil and referred to as the soil charge factor, soil water factor, and soil nutrient factor. The load coefficients of the water and nutrient factor were the largest, indicating that soil conditions had a substantial effect on the yield and quality of cultivated licorice. Soil conditions, especially water and nutrients, might have a substantial effect on the observed changes in the licorice production area. Generally, the regulation of water and nutrients merits special attention when selecting areas for the production and cultivation of licorice.