•The impact of land abandonment on wetland ground beetle distribution was examined.•Species composition in abandoned land was more similar to wetland than grassland.•High soil moisture improved colonization of abandoned land by wetland species.•Conserving surrounding wetland also contributed to wetland species colonization.•Passive restoration may be an effective strategy for restoring wetland habitats. Depopulation trends in many developed regions are resulting in an increase in areas of abandoned farmland, which could provide an alternative habitat for species endangered by past conversion of wetlands for agriculture. Additionally, various spatial and temporal factors (landscape structure, local habitat quality, and abandonment age) could influence species composition in abandoned farmland. In this study, we explored the spatio-temporal effects of land abandonment on the species composition of wetland ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) to examine whether abandoned farmland can contribute to conserve wetland species’ habitats. We first compared ground beetle assemblages among four land uses (grassland, wetland, and newly and previously abandoned farmland) in the Kushiro region, eastern Hokkaido, Japan. We then examined the factors influencing differences in wetland species composition between abandoned farmland and wetland. We found that the composition of wetland species in abandoned farmland was more similar to that of wetland than that of grassland. Our results also showed that soil moisture in abandoned farmland was positively related to the land abandonment age and that differences in wetland species composition between abandoned farmland and wetland were negatively related to both soil moisture and surrounding wetland area. Our findings suggest that abandoned farmland can serve as an alternative habitat for wetland ground beetles. Maintaining a high level of soil moisture in abandoned farmland and conserving the surrounding wetland could be an effective strategy for restoring natural habitats for these species.