[Objective] The changes in net primary productivity (NPP) under forest management and drought disturbance in natural forest areas of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces were compared and analyzed, in order to provide scientific support for responding to climate change and achieving sustainable forest management in Northeast China. [Methods] Based on the forest NPP remote-sensing data and land use data of the three northeastern provinces from 2000 to 2022, combined with the vegetation transfer matrix, the net increment of forest NPP under the forest management strategy was obtained. In addition, based on the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) from 2000 to 2022, combined with the NPP anomaly index and Pearson correlation analysis, quantitative analysis of the effects of severe drought on forest NPP in three provinces of Northeast China was conducted. [Results] ① The average annual growth rate of forest NPP in the three northeastern provinces from 2000 to 2022 was 1.54%, and the spatial distribution of NPP varied significantly. The NPP average of forest area Ⅲ was the highest, and the NPP growth trend of forest areas Ⅰ and Ⅱ was more significant. Over the past 23 years, drought in the three northeastern provinces had been mitigated, and the area of severe drought zone had gradually shrunk from a large area in the west during 2000—2002 and moved north to the northwest of Heilongjiang Province in 2008. ② As forest management continues, the increase of forest area and the conversion of low NPP vegetation to high NPP vegetation over the past 23 years in the forested areas of the three northeastern provinces were the important reasons for the growth of forest NPP at the site by 15.20 Tg (calculated by carbon), with the highest percentage of increase in the area of deciduous broadleaved forests, which amounted to 43.29%. ③ Forest NPP and SPEI for the three northeastern provinces showed a significant positive correlation (R=0.60, p<0.01) and also showed a highly significant positive correlation (p<0.01) in forest areas Ⅰ (R=0.57) and Ⅱ (R=0.79), where forest NPP decreased with drought. Heavy drought decreased forest NPP in the three northeastern provinces by 11.09 Tg during 23 years. [Conclusion] Drought disturbance under climate change and forest management affected forest NPP both negatively and positively in the three northeastern provinces, but the latter was greater than the former, and forest NPP increased. Among them, the sensitivity to drought was much higher in the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains forests than in the Changbai Mountain forests.