Nitrate is a major nitrogen resource for cereal crops, thus understanding nitrate signaling in cereal crops is valuable for engineering crops with improved nitrogen use efficiency. Although several regulators have been identified in nitrate sensing and signaling in Arabidopsis, the equivalent information in cereals is missing. Here, we isolated a nitrate-inducible and cereal-specific NAC transcription factor TaNAC2-5A from wheat (Triticum aestivum). Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay showed that TaNAC2-5A could directly bind to the promoter regions of the genes encoding nitrate transporter and glutamine synthetase. Overexpression of TaNAC2-5A in wheat enhanced root growth and nitrate influx rate, and hence increase root ability to acquire nitrogen. Further, we found that TaNAC2-5A-overexpressing transgenic wheat lines had higher grain yield and higher nitrogen accumulation in aerial parts, and allocated more nitrogen in grains in a field experiment. These results suggest that TaNAC2-5A is involved in nitrate signaling, and show that it is an exciting gene resource for breeding crops with more efficient use of fertilizer.