•The gully was the main sediment source, and the contribution of the gully to the slope was 8:2 between 1978 and 2010.•Erosion was dominated by the collapse of gully walls under the effect of gravity, which was triggered by rainstorms.•Changes in sediment contribution correlated to soil, landform, rainfall, coal mining and soil conservation.•Uncertainties of the fingerprinting approach are more significant and influential in complex environments. Sediment sources in catchments under the control of check dams in the wind-water erosion crisscross region are more complicated compared to other regions on the Chinese Loess Plateau. This is due to their general complexity, which mainly results from variation in soil, landform, vegetation, and erosion agents. Accordingly, we used the composite fingerprinting approach to trace sediment sources in a typical small catchment in this region. The aim was to reveal the erosion characteristics of the catchment throughout the trapping history of the check dam. Sediment sources were classified into three-source (paleosol, loess and sand) and four-source (paleosol-gully, loess-gully, slope bare of sand and slope covered by sand) groups on the basis of soil and landform types, respectively. Sediment sources throughout the whole trapping history of the check dam (1978–2010) could be classified into three stages according to variation in sedimentation rate. Results showed that depositional sediment in the check dam was primarily from gullies (averaging 80.1%), especially the paleosol-gully (>54.1%). The large contribution of gullies indicated that the main erosion agents were streamflow from rainstorm events and gravity. Coal mining also had a significant impact on contribution of sediment sources, especially for slopes. Since 1987, mining began to change the structure of hills in this region, leading to slope fissures, collapse, and landslides at junctions where gullies meet slopes, which increased the risk of slope erosion. This has caused an increase in sediment from slopes bare of sand distributed under condition of continues implementation of soil conservation measures, which converted sloping cropland into grassland or forest. Further studies are necessary to gain better insight into sediment transport and deposition within such complex environments, as well as to distinguish between the effects of multiple erosion agents.