Cotton is the main cash and fiber crop worldwide, including Pakistan. Sustainable cotton production is threatened by excessive and injudicious use of inorganic fertilizers, especially phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn). Due to their antagonistic interaction, P and Zn levels must be optimized. This study examined P-Zn interactions in the cotton crop under arid circumstances. A split-plot design was used to provide five doses of P (P1=0, P2=30, P3=60, P4=90, and P5=120 kg ha-1) and three doses of Zn (Zn1=6, Zn2=12, and Zn3=18 kg ha-1). Cotton crop data included soil P and Zn availability, plant growth, morphology, and yield. This demonstrated that increasing Zn and P dosages steadily boosted the growth, physiology, and yield traits of the cotton crop. Compared to other combinations, 12 kg Zn ha-1 and 90 kg P ha-1 improved the studied growth, physiological, and yield parameters of the cotton crop. This combination had the maximum chlorophyll contents (62.2 SPAD value), net leaf photosynthetic rate (13.6 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1), stomatal conductance (0.47 mmol m-2 s-1), sub-sub conductance (292.3 μmol H2O m−2 s−1), leaf transpiration rate (9.6 mmol m-2 s-1), and water usage efficiency (2.42 kg ha-1 mm-1). Similarly, the highest plant height, peak leaf area index, sympodial branches, total bolls, and mean boll weight were obtained with the application of 12 kg Zn ha-1 and 90 kg P ha-1. The maximum soil available P (16.0±0.240 mg kg-1) and Zn (9.00±0.335 mg kg-1) was recorded in the P4Zn2 treatment. Thus, the present study found that increasing Zn and P dosages increased cotton crop growth, morphology, physiology, yield traits, and availability of P and Zn in the soil. The growth, morphological, physiological, and yield parameters of the cotton crop and soil available P and Zn were recorded the highest with 12 kg Zn ha-1 and 90 kg P ha-1. Therefore, the highest seed cotton yield (1.278 ton ha-1) and biological yield (10.492 ton ha-1) were with the application of 12 kg Zn ha-1 and 90 kg P ha-1. The findings of this research work suggest that the combined application of 12 kg Zn ha-1 and 90 kg P ha-1 is the best fertilizer management approach to increase cotton seed yield under the conditions of an arid climate.