This study aimed to solve the problems of unclear yield formation mechanism of peanut varieties in different eras in Shandong Province and the lack of systematic theoretical support for breeding and cultivation. In order to analyze the changes of variety yield and its components, the typical peanut varieties from Shandong Province, including those from the 1960s (‘Qixia Laobaoji’, ‘Jianggezhuang Banman’), 1980s (‘Haihua No.1’, ‘Baisha 1016’), and contemporary varieties (‘Luhua 11’, ‘Huayu 22’, ‘Luhua 12’) were used as materials, and two cultivation modes of film mulching and open field were set up. The biological yield, economic yield, key components and agronomic traits were systematically determined. The results demonstrated a shift in the yield improvement pathway of large-pod peanuts during varietal replacement: from the 1960s to the present, their biological yield under film mulching decreased by 15.34%, while economic yield significantly increased by 24.70%, primarily due to a substantial improvement in the economic coefficient. In contrast, small-pod peanuts exhibited synergistic growth in both biological and economic yields under open-field cultivation, with contemporary varieties showing increases of 17.82% and 13.68%, respectively, compared to the 1980s varieties. Peanut pod yield is closely associated with the characteristics of the aboveground parts, and the improvement in peanut yield results from the combined effects of biological yield and economic coefficient. In the future, molecular markers and physiological mechanisms can be combined to explore breeding targets for synergistic improvement of economic coefficient and biological yield, so as to provide support for high-yield and high-quality peanut breeding.